Locals blocked the Barishal-Dhaka highway on Tuesday morning to protest the killing of van driver Manju Bepari in Gournadi, Barishal, and to demand that the killers be found and brought to justice.

It is learned that Manju Bepari (50), a poor van driver from Purba Kazhmabad village of the upazila, was hacked to death by unidentified miscreants on Saturday midnight.

In protest of the killing, the locals formed a human chain and protest rally at the Kazhmabad bus stand of the upazila at 11 am on Tuesday. At one point, they blocked the highway and started the protest. The human chain and protest rally lasted for about an hour. During this time, a long traffic jam was created on both sides of the highway.

As a result, hundreds of passenger coaches and buses, along with thousands of passengers and goods transporters, were stranded in the blockade. Thousands of passengers and goods transporters suffered extreme hardship.

Upon receiving the news, Gournadi Model Police Station OC Md. Tarek Hasan Russell and OC (Investigation) Md. Mahbubur Rahman reached the spot and calmed the protesters by assuring them of accepting their demands. Later, the human chain and the protesters lifted their blockade from the highway.