Yet another bloody day sees 2 killed
Two more lives were lost and at least 43 people were burnt yesterday as arson attacks on vehicles continued across the country on the 18th day of the indefinite blockade enforced by the BNP-led alliance.
Taking the death toll to 30 in the violence since January 5, a truck helper and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver died yesterday in attacks by blockade supporters.
Apart from the gruesome bus arson in the capital that burned at least 28 people, eight more including three women and two children were burnt as a bus was fire-bombed in Rajshahi last night.
In another incident, alleged blockaders threw Molotov cocktails on a truck escorted by four policemen in Moulvibazar, leaving the driver's assistant critically burnt.
According to fire service officials, at least eight vehicles were torched across the country yesterday.
Meanwhile, a 13-year-old boy who was burnt under unclear circumstances in Savar on January 13 also died yesterday.
Helper Abdur Rahim Morol, 30, had suffered 39 percent burns after pro-blockade pickets hurled a petrol bomb on his furniture-laden Narayanganj-bound truck at Noongola of Bogra Sadar upazila around 7:30pm Thursday.
Rahim, who hailed from Satkhira, died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) around 10:00am yesterday.
Two more people were injured in the incident. Furniture trader Shaju Khalifa, 36, was taken to the burn unit of the DMCH in a critical condition while driver Titon Mia, 40, was undergoing treatment at a Bogra hospital.
Police arrested three Jamaat-BNP men yesterday and lodged a case against 103 named and many unnamed people in connection with this incident.
Meanwhile, the BNP-led alliance called a 48-hour hartal in Bogra for tomorrow and Monday, protesting recent arrests and "false" cases against its leaders in the district.
In Sylhet, Shahjahan Uddin, 30, met the tragic end soon after a truck having been attacked by blockaders hit his CNG-run three-wheeler at Tetli on Dhaka-Sylhet highway Thursday night.
Police said seven to eight youths hurled a petrol bomb on the Dhaka-bound truck near Pragati High School around 11:00pm. The driver then lost control on the wheels and hit the auto-rickshaw before skidding off the road.
Locals took critically injured Shahjahan, who hailed from nearby Ahmedpur village, to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital where he died around 12:30am.
In a separate incident, driver Hasan was burnt as suspected blockade supporters threw a petrol bomb on his truck near Nolkadar bridge in Lamakazi area of Bishwanath upazila around 11:00pm Thursday.
In Rajshahi, a group of around 10 people, allegedly cadres of Islami Chhatra Shibir, waylaid a Rajshahi-bound bus in front of the Tanore upazila Brac office around 8:00pm, minutes after it left the Tanore bus stand.
They threw a Molotov cocktail inside the bus and fled the scene. Fire engulfed the bus quickly, burning at least eight.
Locals, police and fire fighters doused the fire and took the injured to Tanore Upazila Health Complex and Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
The injured are Ashraf Ali, 50, of Mohonpur; Asia, 4, daughter of Ajimuddin of Mohonpur; seven-year-old Farzana; Ajufa Begum, 40; Mokbul Hossain, 45, and his wife Anwara, 42; Julekha, 45; and Ramjan Ali, 30.
The conditions of Ashraf, Asia and Farzana were critical, said Officer-in-Charge Anwar Ali of Tanore Police Station.
In another incident, an angry mob beat up two alleged Shibir cadres in Rajshahi's Poba after they torched a bus in the evening. Passengers of the torched bus with help from the locals caught Moshiur Rahman and Abdul Awal while they were fleeing with other arsonists, and broke their hands before handing them to police.
Back in Dhaka, teenager Zakir Hossain succumbed to his burns at the DMCH yesterday after fighting for life for 10 days.
Police could not confirm whether he was an arson victim. None came to claim his body either.
Zakir was found crying with burns all over his body beside a road in Savar's Nabinagar area on January 13. With 70 percent burns, he was first admitted to Gonoswasthya Kendra Hospital in Savar and then to the DMCH on Thursday night. He died there around 1:30am.
In Moulvibazar, blockaders hurled a petrol bomb on a truck with four policemen on it in Srimangal around 11:30pm Thursday. The truck was going to Dhaka under police escort to collect question papers for Secondary School Certificate examinations scheduled to begin from February 02.
Helper Sajuddin Saju, 50, was admitted to Moulvibazar Sadar Hospital with severe burns on his face.
In Bogra, a trucker and his assistant were burnt in a petrol bomb attack on their empty vehicle at Charmatha on Dhaka-Rangpur highway around 8:00pm yesterday.
Driver Masud Mia, 35, of Bholta village and helper Jahangir Alam, 30, of Nishchintapur under Kahaloo upazila were rushed to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital.
In Noakhali, blockaders threw a petrol bomb on a truck at Halim Dighi on Chatkhil-Sonaimuri road around 10:00pm yesterday, leaving the driver and his helper burnt.
Driver Nurunnabi, 25, and assistant Jashed, 22, both hailing from Khagrachhari's Ramgarh, were admitted to Nokhali Medical College Hospital.
Nurunnabi is stated to be in a critical condition.
Earlier in the day, five municipality-level Chhatra Shibir leaders were arrested with two light guns, five petrol bombs and six crude bombs at Ramkrishnapur of Noakhali.
In a similar attack in Barisal, driver Shafiuddin, 45, and helper Rubel, 20, were burnt after pro-blockade pickets set a Bhola-bound poultry-feed laden truck on fire with a petrol bomb near Dapdapia bridge around 10:30pm yesterday.
The injured were being treated at Sher-E-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barisal.
In Khulna, police recovered 11 petrol bombs from behind a tea stall in the New Market area on Thursday night.
Two local Jamaat leaders were arrested from a house on Falahia Lane in Feni around 12:00noon.
Besides, 36 people were arrested in Satkhira, 11 in Manikganj and six in Chapainawabganj yesterday in connection with the blockade and hartal violence.
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