Ctg jewellers enforce strike

10 May 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent, Ctg

Jewellery shop owners enforced a daylong strike in the port city yesterday demanding immediate arrest of the culprits involved in burglaries at six shops in a span of one month. Around 2000 jewellery shops in the city kept the shutters down to press home the six-point demand of the jewellers, sources said. Owners and staffs of the jewellery shops under the banner of Bangladesh Jewellers Association formed a human chain in front of the Chittagong Press Club at around 12:00 noon. Burglaries took place at six jewellery shops in three markets -- Bipani Bitan (New Market), Lucky Plaza at Agrabad and Swajan Super Market at Bahodderhat -- on the nights of March 22, April 23 and April 30 respectively. Over 650 tolas of gold ornaments were stolen from these shops, the shop owners said. Speaking at the human chain programme, jewellers criticised the law enforcement agencies for their failure to track down the real culprits involved in the burglaries. They also blamed the poor security system in the markets for such burglaries. Chittagong Jewellers Association President Md Nurul Absar Chowdhury and General Secretary Suvash Chandra Dhar spoke at the programme. Later, they took out a procession. The traders also submitted separate memorandums to Deputy Commissioner (DC) Fayez Ahmad and Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Commissioner Mohammad Moniruzzaman in support of their six-point demand.