After six days another petrol bomb victim died at the Burn and Plastic Surgery unit of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) yesterday.
The death toll in political violence since January 5 now stands at 73.
The victim Idris,18, died in the afternoon with 30% burn injuries in his face, chest and two hands, confirmed Mrinal Chowdhury, a doctor of the burn unit. Idris was from Pekua upazila, Cox’s Bazar.
He was injured on February 11 at Shah Mirpur area while returning from his village home. The auto-rickshaw he was on was attacked with a petrol bomb. Another passenger of the vehicle Titu Acharjee, 35, is still under treatment at the hospital.
A total of 73 people died in the non-stop countrywide blockade and spells of shutdowns by the BNP led 20-party alliance. Of them 39 died in arson attacks.
The alliance enforced the latest spell of hartal from 6am on Sunday protesting repression on its leaders and activists and also demanding fresh parliamentary polls under a neutral government.
On Monday night a pick-up van driver and his two helpers were burnt critically by petrol bombs in Chittagong’s Rangunia upazila. A CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver received splinter injuries from a crude bomb in the district’s Hathazari upazila in the early hours yesterday.
The pick-up van driver Ali Hossain, 45, his helpers Mohammad Selim, 40, and Dulal Mia, 30, were admitted in the burn unit of CMCH. The CNG driver Sahabuddin, 28, was admitted to the hospital’s Casualty ward, said police sources.
Rangunia Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Waliullah said some miscreants hurled the bombs at the sand-laden pick-up van at Mohajon Bottol area under Chandraghona union of the upazila on Monday at around 11pm.
The three were admitted into CMCH at around 12 midnight, said CMCH Police Outpost’s Nayek Jahangir Alam.
At Hathazari the auto-rickshaw driver Sahabuddin was injured by splinters when some miscreants hurled crude bombs on the road at around 2am, said Nayek Jahangir.
Bakalia Police nabbed three Shibir men, Sarwar Kamal, Shahidul Islam and Mafizur Rahaman Rasel, with five petrol bombs and five crude bombs from Chittagong city’s Landmark Residential Area at around 2:30am following a tip-off.
Our Jessore correspondent reports, rickshaw puller Nur Mohammad, 25, was injured by crude bomb at Doratana area around 11:30pm Monday. He was admitted to a local hospital.
Activists of BNP-Jamaat torched two trucks in Moulvibazar Sadar upazila around 6:05am but no one was hurt, said Abdus Salek, officer-in-charge of Moulvibazar Sadar Police Station. No one was yet arrested in this connection.
From Dhumsadda road, Feni police seized 10 crude bombs from a rickshaw but its two riders fled the scene. Police arrested the puller for interrogation.
In Keraniganj, Dhaka miscreants torched Aganagar unit BNP office and two buses of Chandra Paribahan at Kodomtoli Intersection in separate incidents early yesterday. Fire fighters were able to bring both the incidents under control.
Jamal Uddin Mir, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of South Keraniganj Police Station said they were investigating to find the arsonists. A man was detained as suspect.
Meanwhile, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) seized seven crude bombs from Sabujbagh in the capital in the morning yesterday.
At around 10am miscreants exploded several crude bombs on the premises of the trial court in the old part of the capital.
Police picked up at least 16 BNP, Jamaat and Shibir men from different parts of Dhaka on charges of plotting subversive activities in 24 hours till 9am yesterday.
