At least 11 vehicles were torched in different places of the capital, Gazipur and Mymensingh on Sunday ahead of the BNP-led 20-party alliance’s planned January-5 rally, leaving 18 people injured.
Of the vehicles, seven were set ablaze in the capital three in Gazipur and one in Mymensingh.
In the capital, a bus of ‘Tanjil Paribahan’ was torched by unidentified miscreants at Gulistan around 6:15pm while a private car at Shanirakhra at about 5:25 pm.Miscreants set alight a ‘Suprovat Paribahan’ bus near Jamuna Future Park at Kuril around 5:15 pm while that of ‘Ananda Paribahan’ at Doyaganj around 3:20pm.
Four crude bombs were exploded in the city’s Hatirpool and Purana Paltan areas on Sunday, leaving one injured.
A rickshaw-puller suffered burn injuries as two crude bombs were blasted at Hatirpool in the afternoon. The injured is Nurul Islam, 50, of the area.
Police said the crude bombs were blasted in front of Easter Plaza shopping complex around 3pm.
Nurul who came out of his house to buy medicine for his ailing mother sustained injuries in the blast. The two other bombs were set off near Paltan Jam-e Mosque around 7:40pm.
However, no injury was reported in the incident. Police arrested four people in connection with the incident.
According to the Fire Service Control room, miscreants set fire to a bus near Motijheel AGB Colony around 2:10 pm. Local people doused the flame after the incident.
Unidentified miscreants set alight another bus near Baitul Mokarram South Gate around 1:45 pm. A fire-fighting unit rushed in and put out the blaze.
Another bus was torched on the west side of Tejgaon Women’s College around 3:40pm.
Besides, the local of Swechchhasebak League room was set ablaze behind the RAK Tower at Jasimuddin Road in the Uttara. However, there was no report of any causality or injury in the incidents.
In Gazipur, three buses were torched in Chandona Chourasta and Shibbari around 5pm. Some 7-8 people were injured while disembarking from the buses.
In Mymensingh, at least 10 people were injured as miscreants torched a bus in the district town at noon.
Police said the bus was set on fire in front of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital. Ten passengers were injured as they tried to hurriedly get out of the burning bus.
On information, firefighters rushed in and doused the blaze. Five of the badly injured were admitted to the hospital.
Meanwhile, police arrested around 243 people, mostly BNP-Jamaat leaders and activists, from different districts across the country, including the capital.
The districts include Jessore, Chapainawabganj, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Comilla and Rajshahi.
In the capital, 31 people were arrested from Gulshan, Mirpur and Paltan area. The arrested persons included BNP Cantonment Board ward unit president Shahid Fazlul Haque, Mirpur thana swechchhasebak Dal president Nazrul Islam Montu, unit activists Jahangir Alam, Mostafizur Rahman and Kamal Hossain. – UNB
