Staff Reporter :
A sleeping man inside a passenger bus was burnt alive as the blockaders launched petrol bomb on the vehicle early Thursday, the 10th day of the countywide indefinite blockade.
Tofazzal Hossain, 20, a bus helper, came under the petrol bomb attack while he was sleeping inside the bus on Gazipur-Kaliakoir road at Kaliakoir.
Being informed, a fire-fighting unit with the help of local people doused the blaze and recovered the charred body of Toffazal. The body was later sent to Sadar hospital morgue for autopsy.
Besides, Abul Kalam, 26, who received burn injuries in city’s Moghbazar area during blockade on January 9 and Tachhiran Nesa, 50, who received serious burn injuries in a petrol bomb attack in Rangpur on Wednesday, died at burn unit of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) yesterday.
Kalam was injured when miscreant hurled a petrol bomb at his car parked at Moghbazar on that day. Apart from these, in Comilla, a serious clash between BNP and Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders and workers left at least four injured at Nazrul Avenue in the district town on Thursday morning.
The injured, Kotwali BNP joint general secretary Shafiul Alam Raihan and Kotwali Juba Dal joint convener Mominul Islam Momin, were admitted to Comilla General Hospital. According to witnesses, when the leaders and workers of BNP and its associate bodies in a procession in support of the hartal were passing by the area, the BCL activists equipped with firearms and sharp weapons launched attack on them.
The BCL men also stabbed Shafiul Alam Raihan and Mominul Islam Momin indiscriminately.
In Sirajganj, a clash between the activists of pro-hartal and blockade supporters and ruling Awami League activists left at least three injured. Chase and counter chase also took place during the period. The AL men also vandalized BNP party office.
Panic mounted as three more people died due to petrol bomb attack on passenger buses on Thursday, the 10th day of the countywide indefinite blockade. Amid indefinite countrywide blockade programme, the daylong nationwide hartal, called by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led 20-party alliance intensified panic and fear among the people yesterday. On Thursday almost all passenger buses operating on long routes stayed off the roads fearing petrol bomb attacks despite the government’s assurance of security. No major transport companies operating intercity buses on Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-Khulna, Dhaka-Rajshahi and Dhaka-Rangpur routes ran their buses.
Only a few buses ran on ‘trial basis’ on Dhaka-Mymensingh, Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Comilla routes with police escort.
As fear and panic still lingered on the mind of many people, they refrained themselves from travelling following repeated petrol bomb attack on running public transports
Besides, as the second phase of Biswa Ijtema, begins today at Tongi on the outskirts of the capital, intending Ijtema devotees, especially those from the districts outside the capital, were facing the worst problems on their way to the Ijtema venue due to non-stop blockade and day long countrywide hartal yesterday.
However, braving all sorts of odds and taking the risk many people specially employees of different government and private organisations and day labourers were seen travelling city streets.
AKM Shahidul Haque Inspector General of Police on Thursday said those involved in subversive activities including launching petrol bomb attack, removing fishplate of railway would be detected.
“In the name of movement those involved in subversive activities will also be brought book,” he told journalists after visiting the injured persons at burn unit of DMCH.
In Sylhet, pro-blockaders launched petrol bomb attack on a police vehicle while it was passing by the Kazi Jalal Uddin High School in the city yesterday morning.
According to witnesses, when Jamaat-Shibir activists took out a procession and started marching forward, Mohammad Asaduzzaman, Officer-in-Charge along with some constables who were roaming the city street, chased them. Being chased, the blockaders hurled petrol bombs targeting the police vehicle. Police swooped on them and fired several rounds of gunshots to disperse the agitators. However, the police forces escaped the attack. The blockaders also torched two goods laden trucks and a car in Natore and Joypurhat.
In Moulovi Bazar, a gang of 15 miscreants waylaid a goods laden truck and dragged out the driver and helper and set fire to it on Juri-Kulaura road in the district. They also started beating up the driver Rafiqul Islam, 52, and helper Alamgir Hossain, 25.
At one stage they poured petrol on their bodies and tried to set fire on them. Sensing the danger the driver and the helper ran fast and managed to escape from the arson attack.
In Jamalpur, the blockaders exploded several cocktails and took out procession at Nandina West Bazar in the sadar district yesterday.
In Brahmanbaria, the blockaders exploded crude bombs and took out procession in the town.
Our Barisal Correspondent adds BNP activists took procession and took part in picketing at Nazirer Mahalla, Hatkhola, C and B, Nabagram, Iswar Basu Road and Jamaat-Shibir activists at Kawnia and Kashipur areas of the city.
