BNP-Jamaat arsonists set fire to five buses, two covered vans and hurled cocktails in Gazipur, Cumilla and Dhaka on Thursday during a daylong hartal called by the BNP and Jamaat.
Gazipur: A bus of Itisha Paribahan was set on fire near Jirani Bazar of Kashimpur by BNP-Jamaat hired goons.
Asaduzzaman, Assistant Commissioner of Gazipur police, said that BNP-Jamaat activists intercepted a Dhaka-bound bus on Kaliakair-Nabinagar road at about 9:00am and set it on fire.
Locals douse the blaze before fire service personnel went there. No casualty was reported. There were a few passengers on the bus, but none of them was injured.
In another incident, two covered vans were torched on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway at the Bhogra Bypass intersection in Gazipur early Thursday by BNP-Jamaat cadres.
Khademul Islam, driver of one of the vehicles, said around 14-15 BNP men riding seven-eight motorcycles obstructed his vehicle at around 6:15am.
“When he stopped the van, they broke the front side glass of the vehicle with brick chips. At one stage, they poured petrol on the vehicle and set it on fire” he added.
He said the hartal supporters also blasted crude bombs before fleeing the scene.
Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy director of Gazipur fire service, said that on information, two units of fire service rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control after half an hour.
The front of both the lorries were gutted in the fire but no one was injured, he added.
Cumilla: Three parked buses were set afire in the early hours of Thursday by BNP-Jamaat miscreants.
Cumilla Sadar South police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Alamgir Hossain Bhuiyan, said “Some buses of Tisha Paribahan were standing in front of the Irish Hill restaurant on the highway. At around 3:00 am, I got information that three buses were set on fire. We rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control. Three buses were partially damaged in the fire incident.”
Dhaka: BNP-Jamaat miscreant hurled four cocktails at Dhaka Divisional Commissioner’s office at Segunbagicha in the capital.
The bombs exploded when aspirants were submitting nomination papers for the upcoming 12th parliamentary election at the commissioner’s office.
Sub Inspector of Ramna Thana Shafiqul Islam said the incident took place at around 3:10pm.
“Hearing the sound, we reached the spot. Efforts are on to identify and arrest those involved in the explosion” he added.
According to locals, BNP-Jamaat terrorists threw cocktails from near a building that exploded on the vehicle shed. No casualties were reported.
In another incident, BNP-Jamaat miscreants set fire to a BRTC bus at around 3:30pm at Mirpur-1 in the capital.
Later, locals and fire service men doused the fire.
Shahjahan Sikder, deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters Media Cell, confirmed the matter.
BNP and like-minded parties enforced a 24-hour road-rail-waterway blockade across the country from Wednesday morning and a daylong hartal on Thursday that ended at 6:00 pm.
