Four more burn victims, who were attacked by hartal pickets and anti-polls activists in the last few days, have been admitted to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition.
Among them, a college teacher of Gaibandha and a police constable were hurt when Jamaat-Shibir men hurled a petrol bomb at them while they were on their way to a polling centre with election materials on January 5.
Md Saidul Islam, a lecturer of Gabindaganj Women’s Degree College, discharged his duty as the presiding officer of Kuntai Government Primary School in Mahimaganj on the voting day.
“After voting we were returning to Gabindaganj by auto-rickshaws to return the election materials with police escort,” he said.
“In front of the college we saw tree logs on street and some 15-20 Shibir men suddenly swooped on us. They hurled a petrol bomb and blasted several cocktails, burning the polls materials. They left after police opened fire,” said Saidul. The attack also left constable Abul Kalam of Gabindaganj police station with burn injuries.
Doctors said Saidul and Kalam suffered 10% and 13% burns. Dr Partha Sankar Paul of the burn unit said: “Saidul’s two hands and a portion of neck were burnt. A local hospital referred him here,” adding that they were not out of danger.
Meanwhile, egg trader Shahadul, 40, who sustained burn injuries when pickets torched a Gopalganj-bound vehicle at Barisal’s Uzirpur on January 4, was also receiving treatment at the DMCH. The attack had also left another egg trader Alfique, 25, injured.
On the other hand, Bachchu Pradhan, a 50-year-old farmer from Chandpur’s Matlab, was also admitted to the burn unit around midnight last night.
Bachchu was in a critical condition with 46% burn injuries, which he received after the auto-rickshaw he was on came under attack by pickets with petrol bombs near a stretch of road between Munshighat and Baburhaat.
According to burn unit sources, a total of 38 political violence victims have been undergoing treatment at the unit. Among them, three were in the ICU, while doctors said at least half of the victims were fighting for life.
