Local leaders and activists of Jatiya Party (Ershad) staged a demonstration in the town on Monday evening protesting assault on the party's Teknaf upazila unit president MA Manzur, also headmaster of Shamlapur High School, by lawmaker Abdur Rahman Bodi on Sunday night.
The JP men also gave a two-day ultimatum to arrest the lawmaker. Otherwise, they threatened to launch a tougher agitation programme including hartal.
Witnesses said Baharchhara union Olama League General Secretary Maulana Aziz along with some party cadres went to Shamlapur High School at around 10:00am on Sunday to occupy the playground of the school.
As headmaster Manzur, local AL leader and influential people strongly protested the bid to capture the playground, Aziz complained to lawmaker Bodi of Cox's Bazar-4 constituency (Ukhia-Teknaf), saying that headmaster Manzur prevented them from setting up union Awami League office on a khas land adjacent to the school playground.
Manzur alleged that Bodi called him to Hotel Green Garden in Teknaf in the evening, beat him up severely and then handed him over to the police. Local AL leader Saifullah said he was also beaten up as he came to rescue Manzur.
Monzur was released from police custody at around 9:00pm and admitted to Teknaf upazila health complex. Later, he was shifted to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital.
Protesting assault on Manzur, traders observed a day-long hartal at Shamlapur Bazar on Monday. Students of the school also took out a procession and held a rally in the area demanding immediate arrest and punishment of lawmaker Bodi.
Bangladesh Teachers Association Cox's Bazar unit president Mostafa Kamal Chowdhury told this correspondent that they had submitted a memorandum to the prime minister demanding arrest of the lawmaker. The district unit of the teachers association will form a human chain and stage a protest rally in the town on July 12, he added.
Refuting the allegation, lawmaker Bodi said Monzur criticised the PM and hurled abuse at local AL leaders and activists when they went to Shamlapur to set up a party office on a khas land adjacent to the local high school. Manzur denied the allegations .
"I have heard that Manzur received injuries during a scuffle between AL activists and his men," the lawmaker said.
Contacted, acting officer-in-charge (OC) Mahabubul Haque of Teknaf police station said headmaster Manzur was injured during a clash over setting up a party office on the playground of Shamlapur High School playground. None, however, filed any complaint in this regard, the OC added.
JP district unit leaders alleged that lawmaker Bodi had earlier assaulted magistrate, engineer, lawyer, teacher and some district officials.
Source : The Daily Star
