By Sumi Khan
Dhaka, May 6 (IANS): Police have detained five sacked volunteers, who were allegedly involved in the ruckus that prompted authorities to allow people to enter Jaflong without tickets, costing Tk 10 for each person, for a week in an immediate decision of the district authority.
The district administration decided to allow the visitors to enter the touring site free of charge for the next week, Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet Md Mojibur Rahman said later on Thursday. He said, "The decision was taken following the assault on tourists."
The two of the five detained are, Lakshman Chandra Das, 21, from the Upazila's Pannagram, and Selim Ahmed, 20, from Islampur, while the three others remain unidentified.
The incident occurred around 2 p.m. on Thursday over buying tickets at a tourist centre at Gowainghat Upazila, said Md Tahlimur Rahman, the UNO to IANS on Thursday.
Jaflong is a hill station and tourist destination in the Division of Sylhet of Bangladesh.
Located amidst tea gardens and hills, Sari riverside in the lap of Hill Khashia of Shillong. The border between Bangladesh and the Indian state of Meghalaya is overshadowed by subtropical mountains and rainforests. It is known for its stone collections and is home to the Khasi tribe.
"To enter Jaflong without a ticket,a group of tourists got into an argument with the team of volunteers at the counter. One of the volunteers assaulted the tourists," the UNO claimed.
Expressing regret over the incident, he said, "This greatly harms our tourism and as the assaulters were employed by me, I take responsibility for this. Three of them have already been sacked and I asked the local police to take legal action against them."
K.M. Nazrul Islam, OC Gowainghat Police said, a video clip showed two of the volunteers violently beating the tourists. Also in pursuit of six-seven other people who were involved, the UNO claimed. Jaflong tourist police arrived at the centre as soon as the news spread, the unit in-charge Md Ratan Sheikh said. A recorded clip of the incident has gone viral on the internet.
It shows three young men wearing blue volunteer uniform hitting a group of tourists with sticks. During the skirmish, the volunteers also physically harassed some female tourists who tried to stop the violence.