Two people were severely burnt while two trucks and three stores were set on fire in different districts yesterday, the 23rd day of the ongoing blockade.
The two men - a trucker and his helper – sustained burn injuries when arsonists set the truck ablaze early in the morning in Magura.
The driver, Milon Hossain, 35, and the helper, Imrul, 18, were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Jessore Medical College Hospital respectively.
The incident took place in front of Arpara Collage beside Dhaka-Khulna highway when the truck was travelling to Dhaka from Benapole, said Biplob Kumar Nath, officer-in-charge of Shakiha police station.
Nur Kutubul Alam, a doctor at Jessore Medical College Hospital, said Milon and Imrul got 38% and 20% of their bodies burnt respectively.
Biplob said the attackers hurled stones at the truck, causing the driver to lose control.
“The truck skidded and ended up on the ground beside the road. The miscreants then set fire to it. Milon and Imrul were later brought out of the truck,” he added.
They both hail from Sharsha upazila of Jessore, sources said.
Another cement-laden truck was set on fire early in the morning near Raipur Bazar of Daudkandi on Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
Sources said the driver and his helper managed to escape but the fire destroyed the front side of the Feni-bound vehicle.
At Kashipur Bilbabari area in Barisal, locals handed two Chhatra Shibir activists, who blasted bombs in the morning, over to police.
Ismail Hossain and Mizanur Rahman are second-year students of social welfare department and political science department at Government BM College, said Barisal city Police Commissioner Azadur Rahman.
Yesterday was the first day of BNP’s strike in Rajshahi division and three grocery stores were burnt early in the morning in Naogaon.
The arson attack made around 4:30am reduced the shops – owned by Palash Hossain, Ziaur Rahman and Hamidur Rahman - to ashes.
Detectives in Narsingdi arrested a man along with five petrol bombs in the evening.
The man, Masum, 22, was held with bombs in a market in Madhabdi.
Delwar Hossain, acting officer-in-charge of the Detective Branch of police in the district, said police raided Madhabdi municipality and arrested Masum.
Meanwhile, Shibir leader Sakibul Islam, who sustained injuries in a crude bomb blast on January 21 in Chittagong’s Kadamtali, died at Apollo Hospitals in Dhaka yesterday.
The 25-year-old was allegedly carrying the bomb when it exploded. He was rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital from where he was shifted to Dhaka for better treatment.
Officer-in-Charge of Kotwali police station AKM Mohiuddin Selim said the body would be handed over to the family after the autopsy.
Violence spiked during the blockade, which came into force on January 6.
So far, more than 30 people have died and scores have been injured in different parts of the country in violence, which mostly involved arson attacks.