Six Rickshaw Pullers Detained by Police Over Community Khichuri Cooking
Six battery-run rickshaw pullers were detained by police in Faridpur while cooking khichuri for a local union committee formation event. Authorities later admitted the detained workers were innocent and the allegations against them lacked truth.
On August 15, 2024, an event involving the preparation of khichuri was underway at a market adjacent to the Dhuldi rail gate in Macharchar union under Faridpur sadar. The gathering was organized for the purpose of forming a new committee for the local district battery-run rickshaw-van transport workers' union. However, the routine community gathering quickly escalated into a law enforcement intervention conducted by the Kotwali police station.
Police intercepted the gathering under the suspicion that the event was actually being organized to observe a mourning day by the banned Awami League on the occasion of August 15. Acting on this suspicion, law enforcement personnel detained six local rickshaw pullers from the site and transported them to the Faridpur Kotwali police station for questioning and holding.
The individuals taken into custody during the police intervention have been officially identified as Majid Sheikh, Harun Sheikh, Anwar Molla, Monowar Molla, Yusuf Sheikh, and Rahim Sheikh. Their detention sparked immediate concern and frustration among their fellow transport workers, who insisted that their newly formed association is strictly non-political and designed solely to unite workers and advocate for their legitimate demands.
Siddiqur Rahman, a representative of the transport workers' organization, strongly condemned the police action, stating that their group is entirely independent of any political affiliation and was formed purely for mutual solidarity and collective bargaining. He pointed out that although police initially indicated the detained workers would be released, the six men remained in custody despite no wrongdoing being established.
Amid mounting scrutiny and inquiries from media outlets including Prothom Alo and Channel 24, high-ranking police officials addressed the situation. Mahmudul Hasan, the officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station, explicitly acknowledged that the initial allegations brought against the detained workers were thoroughly investigated and found to be completely without truth.
Officer-in-Charge Mahmudul Hasan further conceded that all six individuals currently being held at the station are entirely innocent rickshaw pullers who posed no threat. Asserting that there was no valid justification for continuing to hold them, the police official confirmed that the wrongfully detained workers would be released immediately.
