Punic and fear gripped thi port city of Chittagong following th? arrest of City Corporation Mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury at around 3 pm on Wednesday. ,

Groups of people. With whatever they had. started rampaging the major streets and attacking various offices there Immediately after the arrest of the mayor, witnesses said.

Buses and other transports passing through the city had tp ■go for cover when mobs pounced on ahnost everything on their way after the news spretfti Wednesday that the mayor, who is also a leader of the Awami League, was arrested at around 3 pm. Within minutes after the arrest, the whole city Wore a. deserted look.

Policemen on duty at some strategic points of the city withdrew in such a haste that at one place near East Nasi-rabad they even left behind their stocks of rubber bullets and tear gas cannisters.

As darkness fell, groups of unidentified youths armed with crackers, pistols, and other sharp weapons tame out on the streets of the city de-' void of security personnel.

The police and BDR re- . mained off the streets as the city corporation personnel reportedly refused to turn on the street lights in protest agafnst 'the arrest of the mayor.

The armed youths then started footing and setting lire to banks, offices and business bouses at many places of the city. .

At Gate .No 2 of Sholo-shahar. an armed group of about 20 allegedly set ablaze first a garments factory at the Sheikh Farid Market, reportedly belonging to the State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism.

• As soon as the fire broke out, local people desperately tried to 'call the fire service and the police. The fire service reportedly said that they could not move.out of their stations as the roads were heavily barricaded. The police telephone also 'remained

unanswered, it was alleged.

After setting fire to the garments factory, the group then moved to the Bangladesh Biman office across the road at East Naslrabad. witnesses said.

The youths also fired shots in the air and exploded crackers in front of the recently constructed Biman office. The few guards Inside the office ran as fast as they equid, they said.

, The group smashed their way into the building and started looting. Later they set the entire office afire.

Within minutes, the office, building of the Rangs Ltd and its warehouse next to the Biman office came under attack. The youths broke the shutters of the Rangs office and started looting awav television sets, video cassette recorders, fridges and office equipment, witnesses said.

Tne youths then poured petrol and set the office ablaze. Many new cars inside the showroom were burnt, they said.

At around 10 pm. nearly four hours after the fire inci-• dents, one fire vehicle jyith about six fire fighters on board arrived at the garments factory.

Mobs- also set fire and damaged a number of offices and banks including the City Bank and American Express. General Post Office. BRTC bus depot and the recently constructed Railway Station.

Rumours of the army being called out spread in the city quickly. At about 1. am on Thursday, arpied police moved into the city in columns. A few vehicles of army personnel • sped through the city, city residents said,

Throughout Thursday, pickets kept the city totally paralysed. Uncertainty loomed over the port city as street barricades blocked every outlet of the metropolis. Hundreds of men. women and children were seen walking towards Sitakunda from where, rumours said, buses were available for going to Dhaka •