Several vehicles were torched and more than 100 others were vandalised on Sunday, ahead of the 18-party alliance’s 60-hour hartal. Pro-shutdown activists also clashed with police and exploded crude bombs in the capital and elsewhere in the country.
Most of the violence were reportedly carried out by activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its students’ wing Islami Chhatra Shibir.
A suspected Shibir activist, identified as Anwar Hossain, 30, suffered injuries after a bomb exploded inside his pocket at around 11am, said Abdul Jalil, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Shahbagh police station.
Anwar is currently undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital under police custody. However, Anwar’s wife Yasmin Akhter claimed her husband was a trader at Anarkoli Market in Rampura area, where the couple also resided.
In a separate incident, an auto-rickshaw driver was injured after being hit by a crude bomb at Malibagh. Abu Motaleb, the auto-rickshaw driver who resided at Badda, was rushed to the hospital by locals.
According to Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD), police and witnesses, at least 12 vehicles were torched at different areas in the capital, while several more were set ablaze in Kushtia, Chittagong, Gazipur, Ashulia, Mymensingh, Khulna and other places.
Mohammad Ali, mobilising officer of the FSCD, said buses were set on fire at Shahjadpur, Motijheel, Tejgaon, Mohakhali, Gulistan, Pallabi, Baridhara and Shahbagh throughout the day.
Two private cars were also set ablaze in front of BNP’s Nayapaltan headquarters and in the Paltan area, he added.
According to the FSCD official, buses of Shamoli Paribahan were set on fire in Khulna and in Kushtia’s Bheramara, while another bus and a covered van were torched in Chittagong’s Sitakundu.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-Shibir and other opposition activists vandalised at least 12 vehicles including several BRTC buses at Jatrabari in the morning, during clashes with the police which also saw the explosion of at least 10 crude bombs.
Sporadic clashes also took place in several areas of the capital, including Khilgaon, Moghbazar, Badda, Tejgaon, Kamalapur, Banani, Mirpur, and Sayedabad.
On the other hand, the office of local Awami League at Rayerbagh was set on fire during a clash between police and Jamaat-Shibir men at around 4pm. Witnesses said Shibir men set the office ablaze while they were passing through the area with a procession.
Security measures have been beefed up across the country, with the police and Rapid Action Battalion members intensifying patrolling activities and setting up check-posts at different strategic places.
