At least seven people, four from two families, were killed and more than 30 injured in a petrol bomb attack on a passenger bus in Chouddogram of Comilla early yesterday.
Among those injured, the condition of at least six is reported to be critical; they are currently taking treatment at the burn unit of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Dr Habib Abdullah Sohel, a doctor at the Comilla Medical College Hospital who gave them first aid, said the condition of three people with 70% burns was particularly grave.
Police said the attack took place around 4am in the Jagmohanpur area and the passengers were all fast asleep when blockade supporters hurled the bomb.
Yesterday, one more person was killed in a similar petrol bomb attack in Kishoreganj and another person, who was injured in a similar attack in Lakshmipur on Monday, died in hospital, taking the day’s death toll to eight.
With these nine, the total death toll in violence in the nearly-a-month-long blockade and intermittent hartals enforced by the BNP-led alliance rose to 24.
This is the highest number of casualties in one single bomb attack since the BNP-Jamaat-led alliance started their blockade and violence on January 6.
The deceased are Nuruzzaman Paplu, 50, a contractor from Jessore, and his 10th grader daughter Maisha Taslim, 14; Abu Taher, 38, and Abu Yusuf, 45, from the Chokoria village of Cox’s Bazar; Asma Akhter, 38, from Palash of Narshingdi and her son Mahmudul, 13; and Wasim, from the Dakkhin Gajaria village of Shariatpur.
The dead bodies of the first six have already been handed over to their relatives. Around 30 other injured people have been given treatment at the Comilla Medical College Hospital and the Chouddogram Upazila Health Complex.
“All the passengers were asleep. Suddenly there was a flash of light and within seconds, the bus was on fire. The fire soon spread all over the bus,” injured Mashrufa Begum, wife of Nuruzzaman who got killed in the attack, described her ordeal.
“I thought it was the judgment day. I survived because I was sitting in one of the back seats. But my husband and daughter got killed because they were sleeping in two of the front seats. They and five others never woke up. The rest of the passengers jumped through the windows,” she said.
Kishore Kumar Hawlader, inspector of highway police, said: “The bus was running fast because traffic was light on the highway. The bomb was thrown through one of the left windows in the front. The driver took a little time to bring the speeding bus to a stop. Because the door was closed, some passengers had to jump through the windows.”
Rezaul Karim, police super of highway east zone, said: “There were around 40 passengers in the bus when it caught fire from a petrol bomb hurled by miscreants. Seven of them were burnt to death on the spot and 16 severely injured people were sent to the Chouddogram Upazila Health Complext and the Comilla Medical College Hospital. Four units from Comilla and Chouddogram fire service doused the fire.”
Railways Minister Mujibul Haque and several high officials of police and administration visited the spot. Comilla police chief Tutul Chakravarty said law enforcers are trying to round up the miscreants and announced a Tk1 lakh bounty for the perpetrators.
Comilla Deputy Commissioner Hasanuzzaman Kallol said his office had already given Tk10,000 to each of the families of the deceased and Tk5,000 for the treatment of each of the injured.
In order to prevent such attacks, district administration is deploying 12-member Ansar teams at 85 points on the Dhaka-Comilla Highway starting today.
Later, after visiting the Comilla Medical College Hospital morgue where the dead bodies had been kept, Railways Minister Mujibul Haque alleged that the supporters of BNP-Jamaat carried out the brutal attack.
“Just like the way Pakistanis killed people in 1971, [BNP chairperson] Khaleda Zia is also killing people. But we assure you that we will never let her evil intentions be successful,” the minister said.
However, in a press release issued yesterday evening, BNP’s partner Jamaat-e-Islami condemned the attack and accused the government of carrying it out.
