Land office in Feni torched

Criminals burnt down the Radhanagar Union land office, gutting important land-related documents, at Chhagalnaiya upazila of Feni early yesterday.

Criminals set fire to the corrugated iron-sheet building around 3:30am, burning the whole office, said Chhagalnaiya Upazila Nirbahi Officer Kazi Shahidul Islam.

Yesterday was the 52nd day of the countrywide non-stop blockade enforced by BNP-led 20-party alliance. It was also the fifth day of hartal that ends this morning. 

Police detained Radhanagar Union Parishad Chairman Rabiul Haque Chowdhury, also the union BNP's general secretary, in connection with an arson attack.

Besides, police yesterday filed a murder case against a BNP leader and over 50 others in Chittagong and arrested nine others in connection with arson attacks and subversive activities in Dhaka, Chapainawabganj and Noakhali.

Detectives detained two central leaders of pro-BNP Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal -- Zakirul Islam Zakir and Mrinal Kanti -- in possession of 20 petrol bombs at Kalyanpur in the city around 8:00pm on Wednesday.

DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam claimed that most of the arson attacks on Dhaka-Aricha highway were carried out on the directives of Zakir.

Pedestrian Milu sustained splinter injuries after two crude bombs exploded near the Jatiya Press Club around 3:45pm yesterday. He received treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. 

Police arrested Monirul Islam, president of Nachole Upazila Islami Chhatra Shibir, near Asian School in Chapainawabganj in connection with torching a truck.

Meanwhile, Rab-11 yesterday detained four people with five petrol bombs, 17 homemade bombs, and 200 pieces of Yaba pills at Chaumohani of Begumganj upazila in Noakhali early yesterday.

After preliminary interrogation, they were handed over to Begumganj Model Police Station.

In Munshiganj, police arrested BNP activists -- Babu Bepari, 18, and Suman Mia, 20, -- at Sirajdikhan in connection with vandalising some buses on Dhaka-Mawa highway recently.

Apart from the blockade, the BNP-led alliance has been enforcing hartals since February 1, except for Fridays and Saturdays.

The 120-hour hartal since 6:00am Sunday ends at 6:00am today.

BNP Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed yesterday said the blockade would continue and threatened tougher programmes, including hartal, from next Sunday unless their demands were met.

The demands include fresh election under a neutral administration and unconditional release of the 20-party alliance leaders and activists.

Since January 6 when the blockade began, violence, carried out especially with petrol and crude bomb attacks, has already claimed 76 lives and left nearly 400 injured.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimates financial loss of more than Tk 100,000 crore so far with the every day loss of Tk 2,000-2,500 crore.

The Secondary School Certificate and equivalent examinations had to be rescheduled repeatedly due to hartals.

Our correspondents in Feni, Chittagong, Chapainawabganj, Noakhali, Munshiganj contributed to this report.