The dawn-to-dusk strike called by the district Awami League (AL) protesting the macabre grenade attack on a rally at Boidder Bazar was enforced amid sporadic incidents of clash, and ransacking and burning of vehicles, houses, shops and other business establishments, mostly belonging to ruling alliance members.

Businesses kept their shutters down and even rickshaws were kept off the roads.

Panic coated with anger and resentment has gripped the entire district following the outrage that killed former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria and four other AL activists, besides injuring more than 70 people.

Large number of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) troops have been deployed in addition to the normal police force to keep the situation under control.

Officials of law enforcement and intelligence agencies including Additional Inspector General Farrukh Ahmed Chowdhury of the Criminal Investigation Department, Rab-III Director Col Gulzar yesterday visited the place of occurrence -- Boidder Bazar Government Primary School playground yesterday.

Police collected some splinters and grenade levers, an official informed. Marks of splinter hits were found on two trees, in the walls of a tin-made house and on the gate of the school.

Until yesterday, police quizzed some 15 to 20 people including the injured and the neighbours of the rally ground. But they are still clueless about the terrorist act, said the officer in-charge of Habiganj Sadar Police Station, adding, "We are trying our level best."

HARTAL SNIPPETS
Activists of AL and its front organisations started gathering in hundreds in front of the district AL office on Town Hall Road from the early morning. They then took position at different points in the northeastern town and demonstrated against the government blaming it for the killing.

At about 1:00pm pickets attacked a cement shop in Baby Stand area owned by a brother of Habiganj municipal chairman and district BNP General Secretary G K Gous. They dragged the furniture of the shop out on the street and set fire to them.

The agitated mob also ransacked three restaurants including one belonging to the acting president of district Jubo Dal, G M Moula, and some business establishments at Rajnagar in the town.

A Habiganj-Chittagong passenger coach also came under attack this time while a pick up and

They also stopped some vehicles of journalists coming from the capital to cover the event and quizzed them.

A microbus with a crew of Channel i coming from the capital came under a sudden attack by pickets at Shayestanagar. They threw brickbats at the microbus and damaged it in part. They manhandled Madhu Tripura, cameraman, and Arefin Faisal, reporter, of the private television outlet and broke Tripura's video camera smashing it on the road.

The mob also damaged a camera of a photojournalist of the daily Ajker Kagoj prompting police intervention. A demonstrator named Ashik Miah was severely beaten by police and was admitted to Habiganj Sadar Hospital.

The pickets later promised not to damage any more vehicles of journalists.

A Namaz-e-Janaza of Kibria's nephew Shah Manjurul Huda, and Siddique Ali and Abdur Rahim of Bongaon village was held after the Jumma prayer at Shirishtala. Thousands of people from all walks of life including the deputy commissioner and police super of Habiganj attended the service.

The bodies of Siddique Ali and Abdur Rahim were later sent to Bongaon and Huda's body to his village home in Jalalshap under Nabiganj upazila.

After the Namaz, a condolence procession marched the streets of the town. A protest rally was then held in the district AL office where local political leaders blamed and lambasted the government for the killings and demanded neutral and speedy trial. They said the attack has 'put the politics of Habiganj on fire'.

Of the injured in the grenade attack, 49 people were admitted to the Habiganj Sadar Hosptal. Six persons including Kibria and district AL General Secretary Abu Zahir were sent to Dhaka Thursday night and seven on yesterday.

COMMUNICATION SNAPPED
The entire Habiganj district as well as most of the Sylhet region remained cut off from the rest of the country during the strike hours yesterday.

No long-route transport entered or left Habiganj district. Absence of vehicles gave a real tough time to the passengers who arrived at the town by train in the morning.

Inter-city trains on Dhaka-Sylhet and Chittagong-Sylhet routes remained stranded at different stations for six to eight hours while hundreds of passenger buses, inter-district coaches and other vehicles were grounded at different points on the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway throughout the day.

Parabat Express from Dhaka and Paharika Express from Chittagong, both heading for Sylhet, were stranded at Akhaura for six hours until 4:30pm and 5:00pm, railways sources said.

Dhaka-bound Jayantika from Sylhet was stranded at Srimangal and Sylhet-bound Kushiyara Express from Akhaura at Shayestaganj Junction stations.