Four vehicles were torched in the city’s Ramna, Azimpur, Tejgaon and Mirpur areas on Saturday afternoon ahead of the countrywide dawn-to-dusk shutdown called by the BNP-led 18-Party Alliance for Sunday.In the first incident, suspected pro-hatral pickets set on fire a medicine-carrying covered van of Globe Pharmaceuticals Limited in front of the Engineers’ Institution around 3:15pm.
The driver of the vehicle, Shahidul Islam, told bdnews24.com that he stopped the van for check-up as he felt some problem in driving. “Suddenly, a group of youths sprinkled petrol on the vehicle, set it ablaze and then fled immediately.”
Officer in Charge (OC) of the Ramna Police Station Shah Alam told bdnews24.com that pro-strike elements might have been behind the incident.
On information, firefighters rushed to the spot and doused the flames.
In a similar incident, a ‘VIP 27′ number plying on Azimpur-Gazipur route was set ablaze in front of the Azimpur Girls’ School and College around 4:30pm.
OC of the Lalbagh Police Station Azizuzzaman told bdnews24.com that the bus was partially damaged in the fire.
An official at the Fire Service control room, Shahjadi Sultana told bdnews24.com that a private car was set ablaze at the Sat Rasta intersection in Tejgaon at around 7:15pm. A team of fire-fighters rushed to the spot and doused the fire.
Around the same time, she said, another bus of the Metro Service Paribahan was set on fire in Mirpur Sector-1. However, the locals had extinguished the fire before the fire-fighters reached there.
The 18-Party Alliance has announced a day-long countrywide general strike on Sunday in protest against the last round of hike in fuel prices.
The 18-Party Alliance has announced a countrywide daylong general strike for Sunday protesting the latest round of increase in the fuel prices.
It has become almost a routine affair to vandalise and torch vehicles in the capital in the evening prior to every lockdown or blockade programme. Police often blame the opposition activists for such incidents.
bdnews24.com