Students of Islamic University (IU) and local residents have blocked the Kushtia-Jhenaidah highway in protest against the decision to relocate the IU police station to Jhaudia.
On Saturday, at around 12pm, residents from surrounding areas including Bittipara, Harinarayanpur, Lakshmipur, Madhupur, Abdalpur, and Shantidanga gathered in front of the university campus with a procession.
At the beginning of the demonstration, Abu Bakar Siddique, general secretary of the Islamic University police station implementation committee, said: “We intended to hold a peaceful protest, but the agitated locals are unwilling to clear the road. They have blocked the highway to press for their rightful demand. If the superintendent of police (SP) or the deputy commissioner (DC) announces the cancellation of the relocation decision, we will withdraw the blockade.”
Earlier, residents from Madhupur, Lakshmipur, and Bittipara had marched towards the university campus, chanting slogans such as “We do not accept the illegal decision to relocate IU police station.”
As a result, traffic slowed down on the Kushtia-Jhenaidah highway in areas like Bittipara, Lakshmipur, and Madhupur.
Once the march reached the campus, protesters completely blocked the road.
On Tuesday, another faction had blocked the highway for nearly three and a half hours demanding the relocation of the IU police station to Jhaudia.
The Jhaudia police station implementation committee claims that despite a government gazette being issued for the transfer of the IU police station to Jhaudia, the authorities have not taken any steps.
They have vowed to continue their movement until the Jhaudia police station is officially inaugurated.
Uttam Kumar Biswas, head teacher of Jhaudia Bazar Secondary School, said: “Jhaudia is the central point of six unions. Due to the absence of a police station here, incidents of theft, robbery, mugging, and even murder occur frequently.”
