GM Siraj grilled over attacks

Law enforcers have interrogated former BNP MP GM Siraj over arson attacks on vehicles during the transport blockade enforced by the party.

Siraj, a former legislator from Bogra, was at his Shahnaz Filling Station at Gabtoli in Dhaka when a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) team picked him up on Monday afternoon, Kamrul Islam, a worker in the filling station, said.

Siraj’s son Asif Siraj, who was at the Mirpur Police Station, said his father was not arrested.

"He has been taken to the police station to discuss transport issues," he said.

Later in the evening, Asif said the former MP was ‘released’ after the interrogation at Dar-us-Salam Police Station.

Siraj owns S R Travels, a leading transport company in the Northern districts, and a prominent highway restaurant in the region, Food Village.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Deputy Commissioner Nisharul Arif said Siraj was taken to the police station to inquire about violence perpetrated during the blockade.

The government urged the transporters to operate vehicles, promising adequate security on the highways.

Additional law enforcers have been deployed in vulnerable areas during the blockade.