Arson takes toll on them

With tears in her eyes, Bulbul Begum, mother of Shahjahan, calls home to let her family know about his condition yesterday. Cook Shahjahan got severely burnt when blockade supporters torched the auto rickshaw he was in at Mymensingh on Saturday. The photos were taken at the DMCH.

Three more people have fallen victim to arson attacks in Sirajganj and Mymensingh, with one of them receiving burns over as much as 90 percent of his body.
They were admitted to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday.  
Trucker Shaheen, 30, and his helper Majedul, 30, were attacked in Sirajganj, and Shahjahan Mia, 29, who was in an auto-rickshaw, was attacked in Mymensingh. Blockaders set fire to their vehicles on Saturday night.
Majedul received 90 percent burns to his body, Shaheen 70 percent and Shahjahan 31 percent.
Doctors said all of them had sustained injuries to the respiratory organs, and their condition was critical.
Including the three, 28 arson victims are receiving treatment at DMCH burn unit at present, said Partha Shankar Paul, resident surgeon of the burn unit.
Three of them, including Shahjahan, were at the intensive care unit, he added.
The DMCH has treated 126 burn victims, 74 of whom were admitted, since the opposition alliance started enforcing hartals and blockades on October 26, said hospital sources.
Shaheen and Majedul were attacked at Bainyagati intersection in Sirajganj sadar upazila around 10:30pm Saturday. Blockaders hurled a petrol bomb at their truck laden with perishable goods, said Officer-in-Charge Habibul Islam of Sirajganj Police Station.   

Bulbul Begum

They were carrying winter vegetables from Naogaon to Comilla, said relatives of the victims.
Both Majedul and Shaheen are from Naogaon.
In Mymensingh, Shahjahan came under attack in Ahmedpur area in Gauripur upazila around 7:30pm. He was heading to his Noahata village home in the upazila.
He was seen wearing an oxygen mask at the intensive care unit yesterday.
Shahjahan, a father of two and the sole breadwinner in the six-member family, worked as a cook at a restaurant in Mymensingh and lived away from family in the town, said his mother.
“He usually comes to visit us once a week. He was going to make one of those visits that night.”
She added, “My younger son died of cancer four years ago.... Who would look after the family if he dies?”

Burnt trucker Shaheen Saha and his helper Majedul, lying in the back, at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday after pickets hurled a petrol bomb at their vehicle in Sirajganj when they were going to Comilla from Naogaon. Photo: Anisur Rahman

Officer-in-Charge Hamidul Islam of Gauripur Police Station said police were investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, Trucker Ahsan Ullah, 35, another victim who had suffered 25 percent burns in Chittagong, died when he was being taken to the capital for better treatment yesterday morning.
Opposition men had set fire to his truck at Sitakunda upazila around 11:00pm Tuesday, said his relative Rahim.
Doctors had suggested his transfer from Chittagong Medical College Hospital because he needed ICU support, said Dr Mishma Islam of the CMCH.
Ahsan, who hailed from Laxmipur, used to live with his four-member family at Billapara in Chittagong.