Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Nearly eight hours after the stock investors have withdrawn Tuesday's dawn-to-dusk strike following an assurance by the police administration that their arrested fellow-investors would be released.
"We've withdrawn our general strike, generally known as hartal, following the assurance," a Bangladesh Capital Market Investors Unity Council leader told BBN on Monday night. Earlier, they said police picked up eight protesters while chanting slogans in support of the strike.
The general investors under the banner of Council announced the hartal from a demonstration in front of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) building Monday afternoon to press home their 11-point demand, including stabilization of the volatile shares market.
Council President Mizan-ur-Rashid Chowdhury had told reporters that the areas stretching from Inttefaq intersection-Dainik Bangla Intersection-Dilkusha Commercial Area and Notre Dem College would come under the purview of their daylong strike.
Earlier, the angry retail investors staged demonstrations in front of DSE building against the free fall in share prices and support of their demands. They also brought out a procession carrying the symbolic body of an investor during the protest.
Traffic movement on the road from Shapla Chattar to Ittefaq intersection came to a halt four hours due to the demonstrations, witnesses said.
Additional police were deployed in the area to avert any untoward incident.
BBN/SSR/KMS-23Jan12-11:59 pm (BST)