TNZ Group Director Abdul Halim arrested in Gazipur amid workers' unrest

A TNZ Group director has been placed on remand after arrest over embezzling the salaries of workers of TNZ Apparels in Gazipur among other charges. 

The arrested, Md Abdul Halim, 48, of Halishahar area in Chattogram, is accused in two cases, Nazir Ahmed, deputy commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (Crime-North), told TBS.

In one case, filed after TNZ Group official Mamunur Rashid lodged a complaint against Halim at the temporary camp of the 14th Field Army at the Rice Research Institute, Halim is accused of cheating and embezzling Tk5 crore by not paying the workers' salaries.

In the other case, Halim is accused of causing damage to life and property and creating a threat to public safety by inciting workers to block highways and vandalise factories.

Halim was arrested by an army patrol team at his house in Chattogram around 11pm on Tuesday. He was handed over to the temporary army camp of the Rice Research Institute. From there, the army handed him over to the Bason police station around 1pm on Wednesday.

Bason police station Officer-in-Charge Md Rashedul Islam told TBS that Halim was produced before the Gazipur's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Wednesday afternoon with a 10-day remand plea in the two cases. 

After the hearing, the judge, Laboni Akter, yesterday ordered a two-day remand for him.

Workers of five factories of TNZ Apparels Limited in Mogarkhal area of the Gazipur metropolis blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway from 9am on Saturday to 10pm on Monday demanding payment for their due wages and allowances.

This blockade caused extreme suffering for the people due to the ensuing traffic congestion. At least 45 factories in the vicinity, including five of the TNZ Group, were closed.

Later, when the secretary of the Ministry of Labour took the responsibility of paying the workers' dues, the workers withdrew the blockade after three days and the situation normalised.