Transport strike in Sylhet tomorrow

Road transport workers today called a day-long strike for tomorrow in four districts of Sylhet division to press home their seven-point demand.

The 12-hour transport strike called by Sylhet divisional unit of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers’ Federation will start from around 6:00am, reports our Sylhet correspondent.

Among the demands, one is to manage a safe passage for the accused murderer of Sylhet Agricultural University student Wasim Afnan.

Wasim was crushed under the wheels of a running bus at Sherpur on Dhaka-Sylhet Highway in Moulvibazar after he was pushed off the bus by its helper on March 23 evening.

The bus driver Jewel Ahmed and his helper Masuk Ali were arrested in connection with the murder incident and they gave confessional statement before a court later.

They claimed that the case over Wasim’s killing must be filed under the section-304 instead of section-302 of the Penal Code.

According to the Penal Code, section-302 is for punishment of murder while section 304 is punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, causing death by negligence and causing death by rough driving or riding on a public way.

Selim Ahmed Folik, president of Sylhet divisional unit of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers’ Federation, said, “We called in the strike for the betterment of the transport workers. We are not saying that the accused of the case should be acquitted, but we demand that the section of the Penal Code should be changed as new transport act is yet to be finalised”.

“If the authorities do not meet our demands, we will go on longer strike and other activities after the Eid-ul-Fitr,” he added.