2 bus staff suffer burns

A conductor and a helper suffered burns while asleep in their bus as criminals set it alight in Barlekha upazila of Moulvibazar on Monday night.

Conductor Abul Hossain, 32, and helper Masum Ahmed, 28, were undergoing treatment at Barlekha Upazila Health Complex yesterday.

Md Moniruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Barlekha Police Station, said the bus was parked near Falguni restaurant in Dakkhin Bazar around 11:30pm when the arson attack took place.

Firefighters later put out the blaze. A case was filed in this regard.

The third day of the BNP-led alliance's 72-hour countrywide hartal yesterday was marked by stray incidents of clashes and crude bomb blasts in a few districts.

Although the impact of intermittent strikes on life and business has been modest over the last few weeks, the 20-party combine yesterday extended its ongoing hartal till 6:00am Friday, demanding the government trace BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed who has been missing since March 10.

Like on previous occasions, the announcement of the extension of the shutdown came in a statement issued by BNP Joint Secretary General Barkat Ullah Bulu. It also said the alliance will hold protest rallies and processions across the country tomorrow.

In Jamalpur, at least 10 people were injured when a chase and counter-chase took place between some Awami League and BNP activists in Aramnagar Bazar of Sarishabari upazila.

Witnesses said BNP activists were picketing at the bazar around noon and assaulted Sujan Miah, vice-president of Sarishabari poura unit AL, when he was passing through the area.

On information, some AL men, armed with sharp weapons, reached the spot and clashed with the pickets.

Law enforcers fired six rubber bullets to drive away the troublemakers, said Sarishabari police.

In Kurigram, a clash between Jamaat-Shibir men and police left at least eight people, including three policemen, injured in Bhogdanga of Kurigram Sadar upazila, reports a correspondent.

It all began after activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir, the pro-Jamaat student body, brought out a procession from Bhogdanga. As it reached Pateshwari bazar area, police intercepted it.

At one stage, the Jamaat-Shibir men started hurling brick chunks at police. Law enforcers fired retaliatory rubber bullets and tear gas shells, said Morshedul Karim Md Eshtesham, OC of Kurigram Sadar police station.

Abdul Haque, a Jamaat activist and teacher of a local madrasa, received a rubber bullet while three cops sustained minor injuries, added the OC.

Cops yesterday noon detained 16 women activists of Jamaat-Shibir at a house in Rowmari upazila of the district on suspicion of planning sabotage attacks.

Rabiul Islam, OC of Rowmari Police Station, said they launched a drive in the area on information that around 50 Jamaat-Shibir activists were in a meeting at the house of Jamaat leader Umar Ali in Uttarbaguya village.

Cops detained the 16 while the others managed to escape before police arrived there.

Alleged pro-hartal pickets blasted a crude bomb at Khulna Press Club around 8:30pm on Monday. The blast shattered the glass windows of the VIP lounge and IT room of the club.

Subir Roy, general secretary of the club, said they saw in a CCTV footage that two people blasted the crude bomb and left the scene immediately.

Police in a drive yesterday rounded up 35 Shibir men near Deana South Para High School in Daulatpur of Khulna city and seized desktop computers, laptops, cameras, and mobile phones from their possession.

Our correspondents from Moulvibazar, Jamalpur, and Khulna contributed to this report.