Arrest panic in Gopalganj

After a curfew of 3 days in Gopalganj, the curfew was relaxed from 6 am to 8 pm on Saturday (July 19). The movement of the general public, including traffic, has been normal since the morning. However, the fear of arrest still remains among the general public. On Friday (July 18) night, there was a joint force operation across the district. So far, 3 cases have been filed in several incidents that occurred in the district surrounding the NCP program. The situation is similar in 5 upazilas of the district. In the morning, it was seen on the spot that normal vehicles are plying on every street of the city. The general public has also gone out for daily work. However, since the district city is closed for the week on Saturday, some shops of daily necessities are open, but most of the business establishments are closed. In addition, a barricade has been placed in front of the deputy commissioner’s residence. Armed policemen have been deployed. Police patrol cars have been seen on the road from time to time. However, there is pent-up anger among the innocent general public. Van driver Kader Gazi said that people have not come out of their homes for the last 2 days due to the curfew. The situation on Saturday was almost the same. There were very few passengers on the road. Still, we had to leave our homes because of hunger. If this situation continues, we will be responsible for our survival. Autorickshaw driver Manoj Hira said, “I left my home with an autorickshaw so that the car’s battery charge does not run out. There are very few people on the streets. There is no income.” Many people, who asked not to be named, said that those involved in the violence should be arrested and brought to justice. But we, the common people, cannot stay at home due to the fear of arrest. Meanwhile, on July 16, a curfew was imposed across the district from 8 pm in view of the situation. On the afternoon of July 18, District Magistrate Muhammad Kamruzzaman issued an order directing that the evening law or curfew be enforced in the district until July 19 at 6 am. Later that night, the Additional District Magistrate sent a short message to the WhatsApp group of the district administration’s media cell, saying that the curfew would be relaxed from 6 am to 8 pm on July 19. However, no statement was received from the district and police administration regarding the overall situation in the district. There was also no information about arrests in the last 12 hours.