Yet another truck driver helper was crushed to death under the wheels of his own vehicle after it was torched by pro-blockaders in Chandpur last night.
Besides, a mason and a truck driver who sustained burn injuries in petrol bomb attacks in Feni and Magura respectively on Wednesday took admission at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition yesterday.
Meanwhile, the 24-hour shutdown called by the BNP-led 20-party alliance in Dhaka city and 10 other districts on top of the countrywide rail, road and waterways blockade had very little impact on day-to-day life excepting some stray incidents of violence.
The shutdown had no impact in the capital except for an incident of crude bomb blast in the evening in New Market area and torching of a bus on Dhaka University campus.
However, no long-haul bus plied from and to the capital.
Our Chandpur correspondent reports that truck helper Motaleb Hossain, 40, was crushed to death under the wheels of his truck as miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at his vehicle on the Chandpur-Comilla highway around 11:45pm on Wednesday.
As the truck caught fire driver Nawshad lost control over the steering and the vehicle fell into a roadside ditch.
Both Nawshad and burnt Motaleb jumped off the vehicle to save their lives but unlucky Motaleb went under the wheel of the truck before it plunged into the ditch.
The truck was carrying tiles from Narayanganj to Chandpur. Tiles owner Masud too sustained burn injuries in the incident.
Police in Ghosherhat area confirmed the arson attack.
Sub-inspector of Chandpur Model police station Abu Sayeed said they had detained seven suspects after a massive raid in the nearby areas.
Police filed a case accusing 57 including 22 BNP men in this connection.
Since the beginning of the blockade the highways in the country has seen incidents like this intermittently. A passenger died in such an attack on the highway on January 6.
Meanwhile, two men were admitted to the DMCH’s burn unit yesterday after they received injuries in a Molotov cocktail attack in Feni and Magura on Wednesday.
Mason of Feni Mohammad Nawshad, 40, sustained burns while returning home in Shanti Company area around 10pm Wednesday.
The pro-blockaders hurled a petrol bomb at the CNG-run auto-rickshaw. Along with him three passengers sustained minor injuries and took primary treatment at a local hospital.
With burns in face and two hands he was shifted to the DMCH burn unit. Doctors said his respiratory system was affected and his condition was critical.
A truck driver Milon, 35, who was burnt by a petrol bomb early Wednesday was shifted to the DMCH burn unit yesterday. The truck was going to Dhaka from Jessore land port with garlic and came under attack around 2:30am in Magura.
Meanwhile, in Jessore miscreants burnt a parked bus early yesterday. No one was injured in the incident.
At Chiitagong’s Mirersorai pickets torched upazila Land Office by hurling petrol bomb through a window early yesterday. The attack gutted some important papers of the office.
In the capital police detained at least 36 youths from a dormitory of a madrasa in Mir Hazaribagh early yesterday. The detainees were students of Tamirul Millat Kamil Madrasa.
Dr Abu Yusuf, vice-principal of the madrasa, said twelve of them were Dakhil candidates equivalent to Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination and 15 are Alim examinees.
Atiqur Rahman, a sub-inspector of Jatrabari police station, said some madrasa youths were held in a nearly three-hour drive beginning from 11pm on Wednesday.
Police, however, did not disclose anything about their arrests.
Meanwhile, at least eight people, including a student of Dhaka University, sustained injuries in two separate incidents of crude bomb explosions in the capital’s New Market yesterday evening.
The injured are Dhaka University student Shahidul Islam, Dhaka College student Piar Hossain, street vendors Shahjahan, Sajal, Simanto, Jamal and his brother Jainal.
The injured were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Inspector Mozammel Haque, DMCH Police Outpost in-charge, confirmed the incidents.
The injured were undergoing treatment at the emergency unit while this report was being filed.
Quoting the injured, police said the explosions took place at the gate 2 and gate 4 of New Market in between 6pm and 6:30pm. On the Dhaka University campus miscreants torched a parked bus around 2pm. On information fire fighters rushed there and doused the fire. No one was injured.
Apart from these incidents, vehicular movement was as usual in the capital. Even private cars that normally do not ply the city roads during shutdown fearing violence were seen in plenty.
Shops, offices and businesses were open as usual. RAB and policemen were deployed at all key points in the city to check untoward incident.
Launches and trains too left the capital as usual for their destination without facing any interruption.