5 suffer burns in arson
Five more people suffered burns in another mindless arson attack on a pick-up in Daganbhuiyan upazila of Feni early yesterday.
The injured are driver Mohammad Yousuf, 55, his helper Rabiul Islam, 16, and fish traders Abul Hossain, 49, Mohammad Wasim, 28, and Mohammad Rokon 24.
The arson attack was carried out around 5:00am, barely an hour before the expiry of the BNP-led alliance's countrywide 120-hour hartal.
The victims were sent to Feni Sadar Hospital. Later, Yousuf, Hossain and Wasim were moved to Comilla Medical College Hospital.
Injured Rokon said they were carrying fish from Nimshar Bazar of Comilla to Companiganj, Noakhali. As the pick-up reached the Matubhuiyan Pool area on Feni-Noakhali highway, criminals hurled a petrol bomb at the vehicle.
At least 87 people, mostly without links to politics, were killed and nearly 400 injured in arson attacks and violence since the 20-party combine enforced an indefinite countrywide blockade on January 6 demanding a midterm election under a non-partisan administration. The alliance also enforced hartals since February 1, except for weekends, to press home the demand.
Meanwhile, a pall of gloom descended on the Ilishpur village of Kalaroa upazila in Satkhira yesterday as villagers and family members mourned the death of trucker Jahangir Alam. He was burnt alive in his vehicle in a firebomb attack at Chandra intersection of Chandpur Sadar upazila on Thursday.
The body of the family's lone breadwinner reached his home around 7:00am yesterday. Hundreds of villagers thronged the house, but nobody could find words to console the family members.
Jahangir left behind his elderly mother, wife and two minor children. His mother Sajeda Begum was fainting frequently with the shock.
“Criminals took away my son's life, my jewel... who will now look after the family?” wailed Sajeda. She demanded the prime minister ensure trial of her son's killers.
Victim's wife Khadiza Khatun said her husband had many dreams for his sons. “The dreams have been shattered.”
Jahangir was buried at the family graveyard after Juma prayers.
Police in Chandpur detained Kazi Murad Hossain, general secretary of Chandpur city Jamaat-e-Islami and vice-principal of Chandpur Al-Amin Academy, in the town's Mukherjee area on Thursday in connection with a case filed for the arson attack on the truck.
In the capital, a cleaner of Dhaka South City Corporation was injured by splinters of an abandoned crude bomb.
The bomb went off while Zohura Begum was sweeping a road in Azimpur around 5:30am yesterday. She received treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said hospital sources.
In another incident, a team of Rapid Action Battalion-10 detained a “BNP activist” in possession of 20 crude bombs and as many firebombs in Jatrabari early yesterday.
The Rab claimed that detainee Razaur Rahman Fahim is one of the prime accused in the case filed with Gulshan Police Station in connection with the February 16 bomb attack on the rally of Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan that left at least eight people injured.
However, his name was not in the first information report (FIR) of the case.
Our correspondents from Feni, Satkhira and Chandpur contributed to this report.
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