Transport strike in Sylhet from Monday to demand release of Chhatra Dal leader

Transport leaders and workers have called for a strike in Sylhet for an indefinite period to demand the release of Chhatra Dal leader Ali Akber Rajon who was arrested in a sabotage case last December.

The Transport Unity Council of Sylhet on Sunday (22 January) announced the strike from Monday, which will expand throughout the division from the next day.

Confirming the news to the Business Standard, Bus-Minibus Workers' Union President Mainul Islam said the movement of all vehicles including bus, minibus, cng-run auto rickshaw, leguna and truck will remain suspended during the strike. 

"Rajon has been in jail for one and a half months as he was denied bail. The transport strike will continue until he is freed from prison," Mainul Islam added.

Ali Akbar Rajon holds the post of joint general secretary at Sylhet District Chhatra Dal and the Bus-Minibus Workers Union Committee simultaneously. 

Rajon has been involved with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) while holding the post of Sylhet District Chhatra Dal's joint general secretary. 

On 7 December last year, police arrested him from the Surma Market area of the city in a sabotage case filed in 2018.