Labour leader Mishu released hours after arrest

Police have released Biplobi Oikya Front President Moshrefa Mishu a few hours after arresting her before she could join a protest by Tuba factory workers.

She was stopped and whisked away on a police van at Badda Link Road at around 3pm Wednesday.

Mishu was headed to the demonstration to demand unpaid bonuses and reopening of Tuba Group's factories, said Biplobi Oikya Front member Sadia Afrin Shanta.

Mishu was kept at Badda Police Station for four hours and allowed to leave at around 7:30pm, Badda Police OC MA Jalil told bdnews24.com.

She was arrested for 'blocking traffic', the OC had earlier said.

The labour leader was also detained for hours following her previous arrest on Aug 7 after police cracked down on workers on hunger strike at Badda's Hossain Market that houses several Tuba units.

The group's owner Delwar Hossain stands accused of culpable homicide and causing death by negligence after a deadly blaze at Tuba-owned Tazreen Fashions left 112 workers dead in 2012.

Thousands of protesting workers of the group's five factories were paid three months worth of unpaid salary after Hossain secured release by bail after promising to pay his workers their dues.

They, however, were not handed bonuses and faced uncertainty as Tuba's factories remained closed.