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Karwan Bazar Rail Track

Shops removed, office of extortion syndicate spared

Rafiul Islam
The railway authorities yesterday removed some 70 makeshift shops along Karwan Bazar rail track, but left untouched the office of a syndicate that ran the illegal market and made quick bucks out of it.
The drive came a day after four people were killed and five others injured in an accident there.
The office belongs to a syndicate of politicians, traders and railway staff who are behind running several hundred shops on and along the track, making huge money every day from the traders.
In the five-hour drive that began around 9:00am, almost all the illegal shops by the rail track from the Film Development Corporation (FDC) gate to Tejgaon Railway Station were knocked down.
However, the team left without demolishing the syndicate's office, raising many questions.
The syndicate even formed an organisation using the name of Bangladesh Railway and deployed some people to collect money from the makeshift shops.
Sources said some members of the railway police and Tejgaon police also share the toll collected from the traders.
Locals and traders said one "Commander Siraj" used to sit in the office regularly and was the leader of the toll collectors.
The tin-shed office had a signboard that read: "Bangladesh Railway Community Police". It also claimed the organisation was approved by the Government Railway Police (GRP).
During a visit in the evening, this correspondent found the signboard was taken down. But it was not clear who removed it.
Asked why the office was not knocked down, railway Director General Tafazzal Hossain said he did not know.
“If the office really belongs to the
community police, we will not demolish it. But if it is not, we will take it down, “he added.
Nurunnabi Kabir, railway divisional officer who led the drive, said he was unaware of any such office. "If there is any illegal establishment, we will pull it down in the next drive."
The drive also spared several hundred shanties on both sides of the track as there is a High Court order against their demolition, he added.
Meanwhile, a number of traders said Siraj tried to extort money from them even on Thursday night and threatened them with consequences for not paying him.
They also alleged they were not given time to remove their goods and belongings and that the drive cost them dearly.
They did not remove those as Siraj
on Thursday night assured them that their shops would not be affected in the drive.
Biilal Hossain is among those most affected. He had a motor workshop, Biilal Automobiles, opposite the Karwan Bazar wholesale fish market. Two cars that came for repair were badly damaged in the drive.
" I wanted to shift all my belongings, including the vehicles, on Thursday night, but did not do so following assurances by Siraj," he said, adding that he lost goods worth Tk 20 lakh to the drive.
Biilal has no idea what he will tell the owners of the two cars when they come to take back their vehicles.
Contacted, rail authorities said they asked the traders on Thursday and again yesterday morning to remove their belongings. PHOTOS ON PAGE 16