TNZ Group Director Abdul Halim has been arrested on charges of embezzling the salaries of workers of TNZ Apparels in Gazipur and posing threat to public safety and causing sufferings by inciting the workers to block the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway for three consecutive days.
The arrested Md Abdul Halim, 48, is the son of late Abdus Sattar of Halishahar area of Chattogram.
Nazir Ahmed, deputy commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (Crime-North), confirmed the arrest. He said, Abdul Halim is accused in two cases.
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TNZ Group official Mamunur Rashid filed a complaint against Abdul Halim at the temporary camp of the 14th Field Army at the Rice Research Institute in Gazipur. In this case, he has been accused of cheating and embezzling Tk5 crore by not paying the workers' salaries. Another case was filed against him by police, where he has been accused of causing damage to life and property and creating a threat to public safety by inciting workers to block highways and vandalise factories.
Abdul Halim was arrested by an army patrol team from his house in Chattogram around 11pm on Tuesday (12 November).
He was handed over to the temporary army camp of the Rice Research Institute in Gazipur. From there, the army handed him over to the Bason police station around 1pm yesterday.
Bason police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Rahedul Islam said he was produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court yesterday (13 November) afternoon with a 10-day remand plea in the two cases. The court fixed today (14 November) for the remand hearing and ordered the accused to be sent to jail.
According to police and local sources, workers of five factories of TNZ Apparels Limited in Mogarkhal area of Gazipur metropolis blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway from 9am on Saturday (9 November) to 10pm on Monday (11 November) demanding payment of their due wages and allowances.
This caused extreme suffering for the people due to traffic congestion.
During this time, they also vandalised several factories. At least 45 factories in the vicinity, including five of the TNZ Group, were closed due to various reasons including security.
Later, when the Secretary of the Ministry of Labour took the responsibility of paying the workers' dues, the workers withdrew the blockade after 3 days and the situation normalised.
Although other factories in the vicinity have started operating, the factories of the TNZ Group have not yet started operating due to various reasons including gas and electricity issues.
