4 hurt, vehicles vandalised in Pallabi hartal clash
4 hurt, vehicles vandalised in Pallabi hartal clash
At least 7 people held in Dhaka, 1 jailed
BNP supporters engaged with police and vandalised at least seven vehicles in Dhaka’s Pallabi area this morning to begin 20-party’s daylong countrywide hartal today.
Four people, including three policemen, were injured in the clash that took place near Pallabi Super Market area around 8:00am. Three crude bombs were blasted at the scene.
One BNP activist Swapan, 35, sustained rubber bullet wounds during the clash. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatments.
Local BNP and its youth wing Jubo Dal brought out a brisk procession and tried to vandalise vehicles, said Syed Ziauddin, officer-in-charge of Pallabi Police Station.
“Police intervened and dispersed them,” he added. “Three policemen were hurt.”
No major untoward incident was reported elsewhere in Dhaka during the hartal that was called because BNP was not allowed to stage a rally in Gazipur on Saturday.
Meanwhile, three suspected picketers were detained from Kataban area around 9:00am, according to a duty officer of New Market Police Station.
One BNP supporter was caught with banner during a brisk procession of the hartal supporters in Lalbagh area and jailed for a month by a mobile court around 9:00am.
He was identified as Enayetullah, a ward-level activist of Lalbagh, according to Md Moniruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Lalbagh Police Station.
Two alleged activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student affiliate Islami Chhatra Shibir were held from Malibagh near the Abul Hotel during efforts for a brisk procession.
Police thwarted the procession and held the two in a chase this morning, said Mehedi Hasan Sumon, a sub-inspector of Ramna Police Station.
Today’s hartal is a test for the BNP-led 20-party alliance ahead of the face-off between ruling Awami League and BNP in January, what will mark a year of the January 5 elections.
The government took measures for “the security of the people” during the hartal by deploying additional law enforcers and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on the streets.
Since this morning, the plying of vehicles was lighter than the usual on the city streets but many public transportation and private cars were seen.
Long route buses were suspended. But, a city corporation staff working in management of Gabtoli bus stand, Anwar Hossain, said that it was because of lack of passengers.
“The buses will hit the streets if there are enough passengers. We hope that we can allow a few inter-district buses from this terminal around 3:00pm,” he added.
Last night, a public administration ministry bus was torched in Paltan and an auto-rickshaw in Kazipara in Dhaka’s pre-hartal violence. At least three people were injured.
POST-HARTAL NEWS BRIEFING
BNP today claimed that people have spontaneously observed the hartal and blamed government agents for the fatal attack on a school teacher in Noakhali and other “subversive” activities across the country.
BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged that the government agents were also involved in setting fire to vehicles on the eve of hartal to put blame on the opposition.
“The government has once again indulged in its old dirty game as it did before the January-5 election. The government with its agents is torching public vehicles to shift the blame onto the opposition,” Fakhrul told reporters at a post-hartal briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan central office.
He alleged that the government is obstructing their peaceful programme and arresting their leaders and activists.
Fakhrul claimed a total of 442 BNP men were picked up and 110 injured in police actions during the hartal.