Districts witness blasts, vandalism
After setting fire to a tyre, pro-hartal activists stand with a banner on a road at Kharkhari in Rajshahi city during a dawn-to-dusk hartal (Shutdown) enforced by BNP-led 18-party alliance. Photo: STAR
A police official was injured in a joint attack by the activists of BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefajat-e Islam in Brahmanbaria as BNP-led 18-party alliance is observing the first day of the two-day hartal (shutdown) across the country on Wednesday.
The alliance called the hartal with a 12-hour break from 6:00pm Wednesday to 6:00am Thursday, protesting the killings during and after Hefajat-e Islam’s Dhaka siege programme on Sunday.
Hartal supporters hurled five cocktail targeting a police van in Bogra and vandalised two vehicles in Sirajganj.
Police fired 10 rounds of blank shots to disperse hartal supporters, who brought out a procession in Rajshahi.
Police rounded up 12 pickets each from Brahmanbaria and Jamalpur while six from Natore.
BRAHMANBARIA
Md Ismail, an assistant sub-inspector of Sarail Police Station, was injured as BNP, Jamaat and Hefajat activists attacked law enforcers at Kuttapara in Sarail upazila.
Md Moniruzzaman, superintendent of police (SP) in Brahmanbaria, said around 100 activists blockaded Dhaka-Sylhet highway in the morning.
As a team of police led by Ismail rushed to the spot around 9:00am, the party men hurled brick chips targeting them leaving the ASI seriously injured.
The ASI was rushed to Sarial Upazila Health Complex with injuries in his hand, chest and back.
Meanwhile, police detained 12 people on charge of picketing from different parts of the districts.
BOGRA
The pro-hartal activists hurled five cocktails targeting a police van as the law enforcers tried to disperse them, who obstructed traffic movement in Baghopara area in the town by burning tyres, said Anwar Hossain, sub-inspector (SI) of Bogra Sadar Police Station.
Later, police fired two rubber bullets to disperse the pickets, he said. None was injured in the incident.
RAJSHAHI
Leaders and activists of BNP city unit brought out a procession at Saheb Bazar around 7:30am.
The party men staged a sit-in at Malopara after their procession was resisted by the law enforcers.
Later, police dispersed the party men firing around 10 blank shots, said Ziaur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Boalia Model Police Station.
NATORE
BNP activists blockaded a road in Botgasa intersection in the town by burning tyres in the morning.
Police picked up four party activists from the spot around 8:00am, said Apel Mahmud, addition superintendent of police in Natore.
Police also picked up two Islami Chhatra Shibir activists Tuesday night suspecting that they might carry out subversive activities during the hartal.
SIRAJGANJ
Picketers vandalised a vegetable-laden truck and a bus on SB Fazlul Haque road around 7:00am, said Md Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Sirajganj Police Station.
Meanwhile, the district unit of BNP brought out a procession in the town around 8:00am.
JAMALPUR
Police nabbed 12 hartal supporters including seven activists of Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal from different areas in the town on charge of picketing, Mazibur Rahman Majumder, OC of Jamalpur Sadar Police Station.
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