Vehicular movement on Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Tangail highways remained suspended for an hour on Wednesday as local people blocked those protesting the death of a trader allegedly under police custody.

However, police said he died in a road crash while returning to his home.

Local people said a team of police from Bason Police Station arrested four people from Bhogra Bypass area on Saturday night on charge of gambling.

Later, police released three of them except Rabiul Islam, 40, a resident of Peyara Bagan in Gazipur city.

On Tuesday night, police went to the house of Rabiul and took signature of his wife on a white paper, they said.

Soon after that, Rabiul’s wife came to know that Rabiul died in the night.

Also read: Man dies in police custody in Tangail

Enraged by the death of Rabiul, local people, equipped with sticks, put up barricades on Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways around 9:30 am, disrupting traffic movement.

They also set two motorbikes on fire.

On information, police rushed to the spot and lobbed tear gas shells and used rubber bullets to disperse them.

Vehicular movement on both the highways came to normal at 10:30 pm after police intervention.

However, Abu Torab, deputy commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police, Shamsur Rahman, said Rabiul died in a road crash while returning to his home from police lockup.

“The allegation brought by the local people will be investigated,” he said.

END/UNB/Corr/MAS/FH