A Correspondent :
Some 10 to 12 masked miscreants vandalised Alaol Filling Station at Fatepur in Hathazari upazila of Chittagong early on Saturday and looted about Tk 3.5 lakh, alleged the authorities.
With the money looted, the amount of damage was estimated between Tk 10 and Tk 12 lakh, said Enayet Ullah, manager of the filling station.
Suspecting Abdur Rahim Munna, a nephew of Chittagong north district Awami League (AL) member Md Manjur Alam, of carrying out the attack, the authorities said he went there around 8:00pm on Friday to report an alleged fraudulence over the amount of fuel he had been sold for his vehicle.
Denying the allegation of fraud, they alleged that Munna blocked the station’s entrance by parking his vehicle across the street and asked them to shut the station; or else they would face dire consequences.
A complaint was lodged with Hathazari Police Station against Munna and some 10 to 12 unnamed persons in connection with the attack, added the manager.
Munna said that the station staff gave him 20 litres of diesel, while he paid for 30 litres on Tuesday and subsequent days, adding, “I went there only to ask about the pillage, and told them that they should shut down the station rather than pilfering.”
He added that he knew nothing about the attack. On Thursday, Alam, also a road contractor, sent some of his men to the station for buying 1,000 litres of diesel on credit.
When the authorities refused to sell on credit, Alam’s cohorts blocked the entry path by putting sand over it, an allegation denied by Alam. He also denied sending anyone for buying fuel. The station staff alleged that the attack and looting were linked to Thursday and Friday’s incidents.
Police were investigating the matter.
