With only two days to go for the national polls, the second day of countrywide indefinite rail, road and waterway blockade called by the opposition to resist the elections passed with a loose knot yesterday.
Apart from a few sporadic clashes with law enforcers, and incidents of vandalism and explosion, the day was dominated mostly by arrests of the opposition men by law enforcers in several districts.
In the capital, the impact of blockade has been fading away as the city dwellers braved tension. There was huge traffic on the roads and increased presence at educational institutions while markets and malls had crowds yesterday.
Blockade supporters torched two buses, including one owned by the BRTC in Dhaka, and over 100 crude bombs were exploded during separate clashes with the police. The clashes left eight Shibir activists injured.
Around 85 leaders and activists of the BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami were arrested in five districts.
Moreover, the opposition alliance has called separate hartals in Chittagong, Bogra and Sylhet districts from tomorrow demanding the cancellation of Sunday’s general election and protesting the “confinement” of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
In Rajshahi, miscreants hurled two crude bombs targeting the motorcade of Awami League Presidium member Mohammad Nasim in Charghat upazila in the afternoon. He escaped the attack unhurt.
In another incident, blockaders hurled a hand bomb at a pick-up van carrying police at Daspukur in the city around 8am, said Ziaur Rahman, OC of Boalia police station. No one was injured in the attack as the bomb missed the target.
Meanwhile, the law enforcers recovered four crude bombs left abandoned near the residence of Shawkat Uddin, a lawyer, around 11am at Mahishbathan of the city.
In Sonatola upazila of Bogra, at least 10 people including two police personnel were injured in a tripartite clash among the activists of the Awami League and the BNP, and the police.
The clash erupted when the BNP activists vandalised an office of the ruling party in Baluarhat Bazar area around 10am, said Md Khalequzzaman, OC of Sonatola police station.
In Sirajganj town, pickets in front of the local BNP office hurled two hand bombs aiming at a patrol team of the police. No one was injured.
Blockade supporters in Natore vandalised a truck at Dighapatia and an auto-rickshaw at Station Bazar in the morning. Potato trader Mofazzal Hossain who was in the truck sustained injuries.
95 arrested in two days
In separate drives on Wednesday night and early yesterday, the police and members of the joint forces arrested 95 activists of the BNP and Jamaat-Shibir from separate places of Joypurhat, Satkhira, Chittagong, Khulna, Natore, Jhenaidah and Nilphamari districts.
They were arrested on charges of carrying out vandalism and subversive activities during the recent hartal and blockades, police said.
Arson attacks again
Unidentified criminals set a bus of Mirpur-Azimpur route on fire in Mirpur Section 2 around 10am and a BRTC double-decker bus at Gulistan around 6pm. Three passengers sustained minor injuries in the Mirpur arson attack.
Meanwhile, Rab personnel on information recovered 43 abandoned hand bombs at a place in Bijli Moholla of Mohammadpur in the morning, said Senior Assistant Superintendent Raihan Uddin Khan, also operation officer of Rab 2.
In Bhatara, police detained three Shibir men when they clashed with the law enforcers around 8:30am. The clash left at least five Shibir activists injured.
Around 7am, the Shibir activists brought out a separation procession at Jurain and clashed with police. Three opposition men were injured while the police picked up two others from the spot.
