Mobile traders withdraw shutdown

Staff Reporter :

Mobile phone traders have called off their countrywide shutdown after the Detective Branch (DB) released Sumash Tech CEO Abu Sayeed Piash on Wednesday evening.

Speaking to the media, Mobile Business Community, Bangladesh (MBCB) Vice President Shamim Mollah said, “Piash was released around 7pm.” He added that the organisation will announce its next course of action on Wednesday. The decision to withdraw the shutdown came just hours after Mollah had declared a nationwide closure of handset shops, protesting Piash’s detention and the imminent rollout of the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR).

Traders allege that Piash—who also serves as MBCB’s secretary—was detained to weaken their opposition to NEIR, which they say will severely restrict the country’s mobile device market. The MBCB had earlier warned of intensified protests, even threatening to “bring the country to a standstill” if he was not freed today.

Piash, a prominent smartphone and gadget trader, was picked up by DB officials around 3am on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity, mobile traders had announced the shutdown of all handset retail outlets from Wednesday, citing both Piash’s detention and their objection to the upcoming NEIR launch.

They reiterated that the arrest was intended to disrupt their movement against the system, which they claim will shrink the market.