Long-distance buses will stay off the road on Friday as transport operators go on strike in protest against the killing of a leading member of a transport owners’ association.
Published : 07 Nov 2013, 09:06 PM
Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Samity called the strike hours after Sayedabad Transport Owners Association General Secretary Khairul Molla, 45, was killed at the capital’s Motijheel on Thursday evening.
Molla was also the Organising Secretary of the Awami League’s Demra unit. The motives behind the murder were not immediately known.
The strike will ground all long-route buses from Dhaka to all parts of the country including Sylhet, Chittagong and Comilla.
Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Samity General Secretary Enayet Ullah told bdnews24.com that Sayedabad bus terminal will observe the daylong strike on Friday, snapping road communications on Chittagong, Sylhet, Noakhali and Comilla routes.
He also said the strike will last until 2pm at the two other bus terminals at Mohakhali and Gabtoli, crippling communication with Mymensingh and the northern and southern regions of the country.
Molla’s murder
Khairul Molla and some of his colleagues including Organising Secretary of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Union Ali Akbar were chitchatting on the second floor of the Cooperative Bank building at Dhaka's Motijheel at around 6:30pm.
Speaking to bdnews24.com, Akbar said, "Some of us including Khairul were on the second floor of the Cooperative Bank building since afternoon."
Molla might have been stabbed when he was walking down the stairs, said Akbar. He, however, claimed he had no idea who the killers may have been.
Dhaka Medical College and Hospital Police Outpost Inspector Mozammel Haque told bdnews24.com that doctors declared Molla dead around 6:45pm.
Some youths had rushed him to the hospital’s emergency wing with severe injuries, he added.
Police visited the murder scene.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Motijheel zone Deputy Commissioner Md Ashrafuzzaman told bdnews24.com that they had already started an investigation.
When asked about their findings so far, he said: "It’s not clear yet."
Khairul, along with his family, lived at the House No. 243/A at Dhaka's South Jatrabarhi.
His wife Shefali Begum, two daughters, and only son rushed to the hospital hearing of his death.
Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Samity has demanded the immediate arrest and trial of the killers.