A truck carrying more than 327 mounds of rice from Naogaon was hijacked at Tongi near Dhaka on Friday night, within 36 hours of ultimatum issued by rice traders and truck owners association to ensure highway security with threat of going on strike from July 7.
Association general secretary Salahuddin said the truck loaded with rice from Amin Rice Mill at Hathazari in Mahdavpur upazila was held by robbers at Tongi at midnight.
Hands and legs of driver Anwar Hossain and helper Somel were tied and thrown at wayside on Chittagong Road and drove away with the rice.
Anwar and Somel were rescued Saturday morning from the roadside in an unconscious state. They were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The police were informed but the rice or truck could not be traced out till Saturday afternoon.
With this, 15 rice-laden trucks from Naogaon were hijacked and five drivers were killed by highwaymen during the last one month.
A group of traders and truckers associations at a meeting on Thursday last expressed serious concern at the alarming rise of highway hijacking of rice-laden trucks. The meeting had issued a 7-day ultimatum to the administration for ensuring security of goods trucks failing which they threatened to go for indefinite strike on July 7.
The meeting had decided to stop supply of rice/paddy and all sorts of goods in all modes of transports if their 9-point demand is not met.
Friday night's hijacking of truck-load rice raised worries and tension of rice traders and truckers who expressed resentment against the government.
Most of them alleged connivance of a section of the police with the hijackers.
Source : New Age
No comments:
Post a Comment