BNP will enforce a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Chittagong today to protest the attack on a BNP lawmaker’s residence and the shooting of his son in Sandwip.
Hartal supporters – further inflamed by the evening announcement of the election schedule by Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed –torched two vehicles, damaged four more and blasted at least 11 cocktails at the city’s Agrabad area.
Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, president of the city unit of BNP, announced the shutdown at a press conference yesterday morning. He, however, said Primary School Certificate and equivalent Ebtedayee Final Examinations would remain out of the purview of the programme.
Warning of a tougher movement if the government fails to take action against those responsible for Sunday’s attack on Sandwip island, Khasru said it was a “premeditated act of violence” done to pave the way for a one-sided election. “Those responsible will face trial if BNP returns to power.”
In the press briefing, Mostafa Kamal Pasha, a lawmaker from Chittagong-16 constituency whose house had been attacked, presented an emotional statement explaining how the incident occurred.
He claimed to have sought security from the police but that no assurances or help came his way.
The incident had apparent links with a daylong clash earlier on Sunday in which activists loyal to the two arch rival parties in Swandip were involved. Javed, shot in the chest while trying to save his father, was first taken to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital and then to Dhaka for better treatment.
Police said four other BNP activists also sustained gunshot wounds during the daylong clash at the island’s Taltoli Bazar, allegedly sparked by the hacking of a Jubo League activist the previous night.
