Yet another life was lost yesterday in an arson attack during the BNP-enforced nonstop countrywide blockade which began on January 5, demanding a fresh parliamentary election under a nonpartisan administration.
The arson victim Abdul Malek, 50, died around 3pm at the Intensive Care Unit of Rangpur Medical College Hospital’s burn unit. He suffered 15% burns when suspected blockaders hurled a petrol bomb at a truck in Dinajpur on Wednesday night.
He was going to his hometown from Dhaka where he had come to attend the recently held Biswa Ijtema.
Yesterday was also the second day of the 36-hour countrywide hartal, on top of the nonstop blockade, which was observed with few stray incidents across the country. The capital was almost peaceful with increasing number of vehicles on the road.
Stray incidents of violence occurred outside of the capital. Our Chapainawabganj correspondent reports, pro-hartal activists attacked a convoy of trucks, escorted by law enforcing agencies, going to Sona Masjid landport from Chapainawabganj around 10am.
At Shantimore area, they hurled at least 10 crude bombs aiming the convoy and vandalised windshields of 10 vehicles. Earlier, Shibir men had held a street rally in the area but had fled upon seeing the law enforcers’ escorting. Once half the convoy had passed, the men suddenly launched an attack.
Meanwhile, law enforcers arrested three people early yesterday in connection with their alleged link to petrol bomb attacks in different areas of Habiganj during the ongoing countrywide blockade.
Faisal Mia, 18, Shahadat, 25, and Rahmat Mia, 32, were arrested in Omednagar area of the town soon after midnight, reports our Moulvibazar correspondent. The trio was involved in petrol bomb attacks at different parts of the district including the house of Habiganj’s superintendent of police and assistant superintendent of police on January 15 and 23 respectively, said Nazim Uddin, officer-in-charge of Habiganj Sadar Police Station.
Our Jhalokathi correspondent said pro-blockaders hurled petrol bombs at the house of the district Awami League’s organising secretary Afzal Hossain’s house at Daktarpatti. No one was hurt in the incident. Meanhwile, miscreants hurled petrol bomb aiming a bus at Jhalokathi bus stand. Police arrested total seven men in these connections.
Meanwhile, in front of Jahangirnagar University miscreants hurled two crude bombs aiming two buses in the morning. No one was injured.
In Thakurgaon, a pick up van laden with chicks coming from Bogra was burnt around 12.30 am by miscreants who hurled petrol bomb at 29-mile point on Thakurgaon-Dinajpur highway 11km south of Thakurgaon town. The chicks and the driver were burnt.
BGB sources said the van was moving in isolation without the assistance of BGB petrol. The miscreants took advantage of this opportunity and barricaded the road with wooden logs and hurled petrol bomb at the van.
Battalion 30 BGB Director at Thakurgaon Lt Col Tushar Bin Yunus said immediately after the incident, a task force of BGB and Police headed by a Magistrate rushed to the spot and rescued driver Nazmul Islam and his brother-in-law. They also conducted raids in different places in the area and arrested nine criminals involved in the incident. BGB ensured safety for the general people in the area immediately after the incident.
In Khulna district, miscreants vandalised at least five vehicles at different parts of the city.
In the capital, DMP in a special drive arrested 22 activists of BNP and Jamaat yesterday. The drives were conducted at Bongshal, Lalbagh, Motijheel, Paltan, Demra, Jatrabari, Shyampur, Tejgaon, Rupnagar, Pallabi, Bhasantek, Banani, Bhatara and Uttara East areas.
