Staff Reporter :
Arson attack on passenger bus and goods-laden truck continued in capital Dhaka and elsewhere across the country for Saturday, the 12th day of the indefinite blockade called by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.
Sultana Jiba, a master’s student of Jagannath University, received severe burn injuries when blockade supporters set fire to a passenger bus at Rayerbagh in Jatrabari area yesterday morning.
Besides, vandalism of vehicles, clashes between blockaders and police, explosion of crude bombs took place in different places across the country.
People’s sufferings mounted as the blockade entered 12th day yesterday. Thousands of people got stranded in capital Dhaka and elsewhere as the no long-route bus and coach left at their respective terminals since January 5 fearing vandalism.
The countrywide nonstop transport blockade saw it’s deadliest on January 14 as five people were burnt alive in a petrol bomb attack at Mithapukur in Rangpur. Besides, 20 other people were killed during the blockade in the last 12 days.
Vehicular movement in the capital was as usual as blockaders were hardly seen on the streets in the morning. A large number of law enforcers remained deployed in different parts of the capital to fend off any trouble.
In capital Dhaka, two people including a female student of Jagannath University suffered burn injuries when blockade supporters set fire to a bus at Rayerbagh in Jatrabari area at about 8:45 am. One of the injured, Sultana Jiba, a master’s student of Jagannath University, received primary treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, said Officer-in-Charge of Jatrabari Police Station Abani Sankar Kar.
The blockade supporters torched a passenger bus at Mirpur-13 around 7:30 am. Later, fire-fighters doused the blaze. However, there was no report of any causality in the incident.
A passenger bus came under petrol bomb attack near German Technical crossing under Darussalam Police Station in the city. According to witnesses, the blockaders hurled petrol bomb attack targeting the bus while it was passing by the Technical crossing. However, none was hurt in the incident.
Besides, blockade supporters exploded crude bombs at Paltan crossing and Bijoynagar area yesterday noon.
In Bogra, the blockade supporters launched arson attack on a sugar and vegetables-laden truck at Jhopgari in Sadar Upazila of the district.
According to witnesses, when the trucks carrying sugar and vegetables from Kanchpur in Narayanganj reached near Jhopgari area, the blockade supporters waylaid the truck and started vandalizing it. At one stage, they set fire to the truck.
In Chittagong, a rickshaw-puller, Fazlur Rahman, 52, received burn injuries as blockaders hurled a petrol bomb at his rickshaw at Bishwa Colony under Akbar Shah Police Station of the city on Friday night on his way back home.
He was admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH). In Gaibandha, A goods-laden truck was set on fire at Kanta on the Gobindaganj-Hili Road in Gobindaganj upazila early Saturday. Masud Pervez, Officer-in-Charge of Gobindaganj highway police, said miscreants set fire to a Bogra-bound goods-laden truck around 1:00 am.
