Staff Reporter :Ten more people were burnt to death in separate arson attacks on vehicles in Gaibandha and Barisal districts in a span of eight hours during the ongoing blockade of the BNP-led alliance.At least six persons died and 35 others were injured when miscreants hurled petrol bomb into a Dhaka-bound passenger bus of Napu Enterprise on Dhaka-Rangpur highway near Palli Bidyut office in Tulshighat under Palashbari upazila in Gaibandha district around 10:45pm on Friday.Of the deceased, a child died on the spot and three others succumbed to their injuries when they being taken to a local hospital around 11:00pm.They have been identified as Shilpi, 10, Syed Ali, 42, Halima Begum, 40, and Shobon Mia, 22.Later, eleven-year old Sujan and a woman named Shonabhan succumbed to their injuries at the Burn Unit of the Rangpur Medical College and Hospital (RMCH), said the college Principal Professor Dr Zakir Hossain.At least 20 burn victims were admitted to Rangpur Medical College and Hospital while the rest 17 were taken to Gaibandha Sadar Hospital immediately, the Dr Zakir said. Of them, six people with 70 percent burn injuries are in critical condition at the RMCH, he added. The driver and the helper of the bus also received burn injuries when petrol bombs were hurled on the bus in Gaibandha, said Mosharraf Hossain, Assistant Superintendent of Police in Gaibandha. More than 80 people were in the bus when it started its journey from Sundarganj upazila in the district around 10:00pm on the fateful night, he said.The vehicle was badly damaged when bombs were hurled, the police official said. The bodies were handed over to the respective family members of the victims on Saturday after autopsy, hospital sources said.Meanwhile, law enforcers arrested eight people in overnight drives from the area since the petrol bomb attack, he added. In Barisal, three persons, including a truck driver and a helper, were killed when criminals hurled a petrol bomb at the poultry feed-laden truck on plying the Dhaka-Barisal highway in Mahilara area in Gournadi upazila around 7:45am, said our Barisal Correspondent quoting Sajjad Hossain, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Gournadi Police Station.The deceased were identified as Ijaeydul Islam, 35, driver of the truck, resident in Sadar upazila, his father-in-law Motaleb Sheikh, 65, a resident of Faridpur and truck helper Munnu Mia, 45, the OC said.The truck heading for Barisal from Bagher Bazaar of Madaripur district hit a road side tree when it came under the attack, the police official said. Firefighters extinguished the flame and rescued three people who suffered serious burn injuries after the attack. The victims were declared as dead when they were taken to Gournadi Upazila Health Complex, he added. The bodies were handed over to the family members after autopsy at Sher-E-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barisal, the police official said. A total of 74 people died in arson attacks since the start of the blockade on January 5.
