At least six people were severely burned in petrol and crude bomb attacks in Dhaka’s Banasree, Dhanmondi and Savar areas last night on the last day of the 120-hour hartal enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.
However, the first half of the day passed relatively peacefully in and around the capital, with vehicles, trains and launches moving normally.
Outside the capital, there were a few arson attacks, arrests were made, and several bombs recovered.
In Savar near Dhaka, five passengers of a bus were injured with two severely burnt as miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at a vehicle near Genda Bus Stand around 9pm. Two seriously burnt were admitted to Enam Medical College Hospital.
In Dhaka, pickets hurled petrol bombs at a bus at Banasree around 8:30pm, injuring bus helper Bappi, who was admitted to DMCH with 70% burns.
Shah Alam, who took Bappi to DMCH, said: “The miscreants exploded another bomb when fleeing the scene.”
In another attack, pickets hurled three crude bombs at a CNG autorickshaw, injuring Mosharraf Hossain Mohon, 30, his sister Farida Sultana Popy, 25, and his aunt Shahin Akhter, 40.
In the last 24 hours, law enforcers arrested 20 activists of the BNP, Jamaat and Shibir for their connection in violence, the DMP said.
In a separate incident, four people were injured on Dhaka University campus in crude bomb blasts in the evening. Two more bombs were blasted in front of the Rokeya Hall, leaving a rickshaw-puller injured. A tea vendor named Sohel, 22, rickshaw-puller Minju Mia, 50, and rickshaw passenger Nurul Amin, 32, were injured when miscreants set off crude bombs in TSC area.
At Ashulia, police recovered six petrol bombs, 12 crude bombs, and 3kg of gun powder raiding Based Model Academy and arrested Jamaat leader Bashir Ahmed and activist Abdul Hamid.
In Chittagong, two autorickshaw passengers were injured at Shah Mirpur in crude bomb blasts Wednesday night.
In Fatullah of Narayanganj, police caught two Chhatra Dal leaders with petrol bombs at Lamapara on the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road.
Fatullah OC Md Asaduzzaman said they signalled a motorbike to stop, but the two riders threw two bags at the roadside. The ASI, however, arrested the men named Rofiqul Islam and Gazi.
In Mymensingh, police fired shots at a group of activists who left two youths bullet-riddled at the Khakhdohor Bypass intersection. The police recovered two firebombs and three crude bombs from their possession.
