2 Jubo Dal men killed

Two Jubo Dal activists were killed as a truck ran them over while they were trying to hurl petrol bombs at the vehicle in Monirampur of Jessore early yesterday, claimed police.

The dead, Liton Ali, 22, and Yusuf Mia, 25, are from the same upazila.

Talking to reporters at Jessore Medical College, Yusuf's uncle Abdul Mannan, said he came to know around 10:00pm on Monday that police picked up the two from Gangra village of the upazila around 8:00pm.

“I went to the police station today [yesterday] morning to enquire about the two, but police informed me that they were killed in an accident,” said Mannan.

Khabir Uddin, officer-in-charge of Monirampur Police Station, said Liton and Yusuf were killed while trying to set ablaze a truck around 5:00am. The two died on the spot, he added.

Police recovered the bodies and sent them to Jessore Medical College morgue for autopsies. Two petrol bombs and a motorcycle were recovered from the spot.

Shahid Iqbal, president of Monirampur upazila unit BNP, confirmed that the deceased were Jubo Dal activists.

Meanwhile, another arson victim, a pick-up van driver, died of his wounds at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital early yesterday.

Kamal Hossain was declared “brought dead” at the DMCH around 4:00am.

Kamal, his assistant Milon and nephew Jewell were burnt when blockaders hurled several petrol bombs at his rice-laden vehicle in Laxmipur Sadar upazila around 9:00pm on Monday.

Milon and Jewell have been undergoing treatment at Laxmipur Sadar Hospital.

At least 14 vehicles came under arson attacks on the third day of the BNP-led alliance's countrywide 72-hour hartal. Of them, five were set alight in the capital, said fire brigade sources.

Law enforcers rounded up around 200 people across the country for their alleged involvement in subversive activities during the shutdown.

In Dhaka, a Shibir activist was shot in his legs during a clash with Kadamtali police. Police said the clash broke out around 8:00am when some Shibir men tried to bring out a procession.

A student of Dhaka College, injured Abdul Hamid, 22, is undergoing treatment at the DMCH. Cops said an ASI was also injured in the incident.

Jamaat activists Nazmul Hossain and Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq received bullets in their legs during a clash with Mohammadpur police on Rajia Sultana Road around 8:30am. They have been admitted to Pongu Hospital under police custody.

An angry mob beat up a suspected petrol bomber in Gulistan around 5:30pm. Police rescued him and sent him to the DMCH.

Khilgaon police recovered 16 crude bombs from a house in the area, but could not arrest anyone.

In Gaibandha, blockaders set fire to a truck on Palashbari-Ghoraghat road after taking the driver and helper out of the vehicle.

Five people suffered splinter injuries as criminals threw several crude bombs at a cattle-laden truck on the Rangpur-Bogra highway.

In Sunamganj, a clash ensued when some BCL men brought out a procession to counter a BNP procession in the district. The incident left at least 20 people, including six BNP activists, injured, said police.

Criminals stormed Muktagachha Fire Service and Civil Defence office in Mymensingh and threw five petrol bombs at the vehicles parked inside the office compound. Two vehicles were partially burnt.

In Bogra, arsonists torched a truck and vandalised several more vehicles. Police arrested 55 people, including 17 Jamaat-Shibir men, on charges of sabotage and arson attacks.

Police in Gazipur arrested 15 people for their alleged involvement in an arson attack on Jamalpur Commuter Express on Monday that left four people injured. Detectives detained at least 39 Jamaat-Shibir men during a raid at a coaching centre in the city and recovered four crude bombs from their possession.

In Chittagong, police and Border Guard Bangladesh detained 13 people, including seven Shibir men, and recovered 27 petrol bombs in two separate drives.

Sitakunda police said the driver of a pick-up van and his helper suffered burn injuries when miscreants torched the vehicle at Sheikhpara of Sitakunda around 7:15pm last evening.

In Bagerhat, a trucker narrowly escaped an arson attack by jumping out of his vehicle minutes before some blockaders set it afire.

Police in Narayanganj recovered a crude bomb from the DC office premises around 5:00pm.

In Khulna, at least three people were injured when criminals hurled a cocktail at a Dhaka-bound bus of Sohag Paribahan around 9:45pm in Daulatpur, said law enforcers.

The LGRD ministry has suspended Mirsarai upazila Chairman Nurul Amin, also convener of the upazila unit BNP, for his alleged involvement in arson attacks and sabotage on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. The ministry has sent a letter to the Chittagong district administration in this regard.