The wave of arson attacks that has gripped the capital city of Dhaka since last week continued Sunday as unidentified miscreants targeted several vehicles and a police patrol car on the first day of a renewed 48-hour nationwide blockade enforced by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and other like-minded opposition parties.
On Saturday night, the Fire Service reported nine buses being set ablaze in various parts of Bangladesh, including Dhaka.
In Meradia area, two people, including a bus driver, sustained burn injuries after blockade supporters set a vehicle on fire around 7:30am on Sunday. Following the attack, the driver of the Achhim Paribahan bus lost control of the steering and hit a roadside tree.
Sabuj Miah, 30, who drives a bus of Romzan Paribahan, was on the bus as a passenger as he was travelling to Meradia from Badda. The other injured person was identified as Sabbir Hossain, Sabuj's assistant.
In Mirpur, a BRTC double-decker bus was set ablaze at 3:42pm. The incident occurred in front of Government Bangla College, and locals managed to extinguish the flames before the fire service units arrived. No casualties were reported in this incident.
Not far from this location, another bus fell victim to arson. A Shikor Paribahan bus was targeted at Mirpur Section 11.5 around 7pm. Two units of Pallabi firefighters were able to douse the blaze.
Furthermore, a “Choitali” bus carrying Dhaka University students was set on fire near Government Bangla College in Mirpur earlier in the day. The bus was empty at the time, sparing any potential casualties.
Another bus was ignited in front of a police box in Dhaka's Banglamotor area. This incident took place in the evening, and two firefighting units swiftly responded to control the fire, as police worked to investigate the matter.
A pick-up truck was also set on fire in the Kawran Bazar area, while a private car was torched in the Nilkhet area.
Amid the unrest, a police patrol car in the Uttara Housing Building area of the capital faced a different kind of attack. Miscreants hurled a crude bomb at the vehicle, injuring three policemen, including Sub-Inspector Mahbub Ali of Uttara West Police Station. One of the crude bombs exploded upon impact, while another remained unexploded at the scene.
Inspector (Operations) Partha Pratim Brahmachari of Uttara West Police Station confirmed the incident, noting that miscreants had targeted the police vehicle. Law enforcement later apprehended a man named Gazi Mohammad Hasan, who is the former vice president of Gazipur Mahanagar Chhatra Dal, in connection with the cocktail-throwing incident. He is currently undergoing police interrogation.
Throughout the day, reports of picketing and arson violence continued to pour in from various parts of the capital, with the opposition's 48-hour blockade program causing significant disruptions to road, rail, and waterway transportation. Despite these challenges, the authorities have yet to make any arrests in connection with the series of arson attacks and disturbances in Dhaka.
Arrests
Meanwhile, a Dhaka court on Sunday ordered BNP Vice Chairman Air Vice Marshal (retd) Altaf Hossain Choudhury to be sent to jail in a case filed over vandalism of the chief justice's home during a clash between party men and police on October 28. He was detained by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in the capital earlier in the day.
Another court gave the police four days to question BNP Vice Chairman Shahjahan Omar in custody in a case filed over a bus being set ablaze in the New Market area of Dhaka. Shahjahan Omar was detained in Dhaka late on Saturday.