A faction of leaders and activists from the Rangamati district unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) blocked a road, demanding the cancellation of the newly formed committee.
The protest took place from 11am to 2pm on Sunday, with demonstrators burning tyres in front of the district BNP office.
As a result of the blockade, road communication between Rangamati and Chattogram, as well as the rest of the country, was disrupted for several hours.
This caused severe hardship for ordinary passengers and SSC examinees. The blockade was later called off following assurances from district BNP leaders.
On Saturday night, the central Chhatra Dal announced a 23-member partial committee, with Md Oli Ahad as president and Naimul Islam as general secretary. The announcement sparked anger among those left out of positions.
The protesters alleged that the newly appointed president is involved in a tourist kidnapping incident, and that the general secretary has a drug-related case against him.
Suresh Chakma, vice-president of the college unit Chhatra Dal, and Ashraful Islam, former assistant office secretary, who took part in the protest, said that if the committee is not dissolved quickly, they will launch tougher agitation, including an indefinite road blockade.
Naimul Islam, newly appointed general secretary, claimed the allegations against him were false and fabricated. He said, “Some people are spreading false propaganda out of frustration because their hopes of finding a place in the full-fledged committee were not fulfilled.”
Regarding the road blockade, Md Mamunur Rashid, general secretary of the Rangamati district BNP, said discussions were underway with the district BNP president and senior leaders to resolve the discontent.
Md Iqbal Hossain, additional superintendent of police in Rangamati, said the situation is now back to normal.
