Nearly 700 pharmacy shops in Rajshahi city were shut for three hours today protesting the detention of a shop owner and two staff of the shop.

The shop owners withdrew the strike after the detainees -- Mostafizur Rahman Shaheen and the staff Shaheen and Wasim -- were released around 1:30pm, our Rajshahi staff correspondent reports quoting Abdul Gaffar, a medicine businessman.     

Mostafizur Rahman Shaheen is the owner of Star Medical Hall, Gaffar told reporters at a briefing in front of the office of Bangladesh Chemists and Druggists Samity.

The photo shows that many people are seen waiting in front of pharmacy shop to buy drugs at Rajshahi city on April 7, 2019. Photo: Star

Musa Kalimullah, a pharmacy shop owner, told our correspondent that a team of Boalia Police Station launched drives at different pharmacy shops at Shaheb Bazar Zero point around 10:30am today.

Contacted, Amanullah Aman, officer-in-charge of Boalia Police Station, told The Daily Star that a police team launched the drive at the shop and arrested the trio for keeping “sex stimulating pills” in the shop.

They also seized some drugs which are being examined, added the OC.    

Foysal Chowdhury, general secretary of Rajshahi unit of Bangladesh Chemists and Druggists Samity, told the correspondent over phone that the association did not call any strike but some illegal medicine businessmen are staging the movement.