Police on Tuesday foiled a rally in Chittagong protesting the suspension and alleged harassment of battery-operated autorickshaws and their drivers, detaining three individuals from the scene.
The rally was organised at the Dewan Hat intersection by a platform named "Rickshaw, Battery-Run Rickshaw-Van and Easybike Sangram Parishad" to press home five demands.
“Our rally had just begun when police charged at us with batons and dispersed the crowd without any provocation,” said Monir Hossain, member secretary of the platform.
“Three of our members were picked up from the spot and three to four of us sustained injuries.”
Those detained are Al Kaderi Joy, the convener of the Chittagong unit of the platform and chief of the Chittagong chapter of BaSaD; Socialist Students' Front leader Miraj Uddin; and rickshaw puller Md Rukun.
Double Mooring police station Officer-in-Charge Kazi Rafiqul Islam told reporters that they did not have permission to hold the rally.
"They had gathered at Dewan Hat and were blocking roads and traffic. When police tried to intervene, a scuffle ensued. We later detained three individuals at the spot,” he added.
Earlier on April 23, several battery-run rickshaw drivers staged a protest in the Chandgaon area by blocking roads.
The protest turned violent following a clash with police, injuring five police personnel.
A case was later filed by police, leading to the arrest of 51 individuals so far.
Meanwhile, in April alone, four units of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police’s traffic division have seized 3,168 battery-run autorickshaws.
Among them, the south division seized 913, the north division 918, the west division 1,168, and the port division 163.
The impounded rickshaws have been sent to CMP’s dumping grounds in Mansurabad and Sadarghat.
