Hefazat activists block roads in Chattogram over leader’s death

Leaders and activists of Hefazat-e-Islam blocked the Chattogram–Rangamati–Khagrachhari highway on Wednesday morning, protesting the death of Maulana Sohel Chowdhury, a member of the group’s executive committee, who was killed in a road accident a day earlier.

According to locals, the protesters set fire to tires and staged demonstrations on the highway, disrupting vehicular movement and causing severe traffic congestion. Thousands of commuters were stranded as transport services came to a halt, forcing many to walk to their destinations.

The incident follows Sohel Chowdhury’s death on Tuesday afternoon after being hit by a vehicle in the Gahira area of Raozan upazila in Chattogram.

Hefazat leaders, however, alleged that  Maulana Sohel was deliberately run over and killed.

In protest, Hefazat activists began picketing in Hathazari on Wednesday morning, extending their support to the blockade.

Maulana Nasir Uddin Muniri, Joint Secretary-General of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, claimed that the killing was intentional.

“On Tuesday afternoon, Maulana Sohel Chowdhury was run over and killed in Raozan. He had previously been subjected to enforced disappearance during the last government’s tenure. He was murdered in retaliation for filing a case with the commission,” he alleged.