The opposition-enforced 131 hours of road, railway and waterway blockades came to an end yesterday, claiming the lives of 33 people and injuring hundreds amid sporadic clashes, arson, vandalism and sabotage across the country.
With the country coming almost to a halt because of continuous blockades, the opposition once again called another 72-hour blockade starting from 6am Saturday.
Yesterday political violence claimed three lives. An adolescent bus helper who was asleep inside a parked vehicle at Sayedabad in the capital, was burnt alive after miscreants threw a petrol bomb inside. He died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
The bus “Ishrat Paribahan” had been parked at the Sayedabad Janapath intersection over the last three days during the blockade.
The victim Hasan, 15, was, as on the other blockade days, sleeping inside - said its driver, Swapon.
The firefighters found him lying on the floor of the bus, seriously burnt.
Of the remaining two victims, a rickshaw puller of Feni, who sustained bullet injuries in a triangular clash between police, ruling party men and Shibir on December 2, succumbed to his injuries at Chittagong Medical College Hospital; and the other one, a Jubo League man, Md Mehedi Hassan Moon, 30, of Pabna, was hacked to death by BNP men at his party office during the early hours of yesterday.
Police could not ascertain the reason for his killing.
In a separate incident, a CNG-run three-wheeler driver sustained 35% burn injuries when blockaders set fire to his vehicle in Chittagong city.
In a new type of sabotage, pickets set fire to two launches at Shariatpur yesterday. On Wednesday, sabotage against train lines left five passengers dead in Gaibandha.
Fifty-year-old auto-rickshaw driver Mohammad Khorshed Alam received 35% burn injuries as blockaders set fire to the auto-rickshaw, pouring on petrol just as he came out of his house in the C&B area of the port city around 6:30am.
The father of five children came out of his house to earn money as his savings finished during the BNP-led 18-party opposition’s countrywide blockade. In Kurigram, at least 20 people, including a policeman, were injured as the opposition men clashed with law enforcers in Chilmari upazila in the morning.
They also vandalised an ambulance and a motorcycle during the clash. Police fired rubber bullets to quell the situation.
Masked men hacked an AL activist at Kansat under Shibganj upazila of Chapainababganj. Police said the incident took place when Manik, 40, was taking tea at a tea stall in the morning.
The blockaders vandalised and set fire to a local AL office at Pahartoli in Chittagong city and in Chilmari of Kurigram following clashes with cops in the morning.
Clashes, AL-BNP and Police-BNP, were also reported in Jhenaidah, Khagrachhari, Kurigram, Narshingdi, Barisal and some other districts. The incidents left 37 injured, including two cops.
In the capital, Rab recovered 12 abandoned cocktails from Botanical Garden while police arrested two women with 20 petrol bombs from Malibagh. At private television channel, NTV’s car driver Biplob sustained injuries in a cocktail blast at Bangshal. There were pro-blockade and anti-blockade processions in different areas.
The numbers of vehicles on the city roads was higher than the past few days. Markets and shopping malls had more people attending. Long-route buses left Dhaka in the evening. Launch navigation was normal.
Launch torched
On Wednesday night, the troublemakers torched three stalled launches including MV Naria and MV Shureshwar at Wapda Launch Terminal under Noria Upazila of Shariatpur. A staff member from MV Naria sustained burn injuries, whilst trying to put the fire out. Locals rushed forward and doused the flames. Police arrested the Jubo Dal upazila unit’s general secretary, Dabir Bepari, in this reagrd.
The BNP-led opposition called a 72-hour blockade on November 30, which was extended till 5pm yesterday. The country saw clashes, arson, vandalism and continuous sabotage against the rail network on these days.
