Man sets his motorbike on fire after dispute with cop

A man has set his motorcycle on fire following a dispute with a police officer in Dhaka on Monday.

Shawkat Ali set fire to his own motorcycle out of frustration after the sergeant took his drivers’ licence and registration documents to penalize for traffic rule violation, according to the police.

Witnesses said Shawkat was waiting for a passenger to make a ride-sharing trip near the Badda Link Road area around 9am.

While he was waiting, a traffic sergeant approached him and took the documents, said witnesses.

He requested the sergeant to not penalize him as well as return the documents but he was refused after which he set his bike on fire.

Gulshan Traffic Division Deputy Commissioner Rabiul Islam told the media that despite taking the documents, the police did not file a case or impose a fine against his motorcycle. 

“He set fire to the bike before filing the case,” he said.“Parking motorcycles on the road in such a way obstructs the vehicular movement in the busy intersection like Link Road during rush hours.”

The on-duty traffic sergeant took the papers of other bikers and filed cases against them, said Deputy Commissioner Islam. 

Following the incident, Shawkat was taken to the Badda police station.

According to Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abul Kalam Azad Shawkat told them he set the bike on fire as there had already been several cases filed against his motorbike before.

“When the police took his documents today, he got emotional and set the two-wheeler on fire out of frustration,” he said.

OC Kalam told Dhaka Tribune that Shawkat had a small sanitary business at Keraniganj which had been closed due to Covid-19 pandemic. Ride-sharing had been his main source of income for the last two months.

“We have let him go after hearing all the details,” said the police officer .

A video of the incident went viral on social media where Shawkat was seen shouting and preventing people from trying to put out the flames.