Jubo League man killed, 50 injured

The injured magistrate

Yet another man was killed on Thursday night, raising the death toll to eight in political violence since Sunday, the first anniversary of the controversial January 5 parliamentary polls.

The fourth day of the nationwide blockade, enforced by the BNP-led combine, saw violent clashes in which around 50 people were injured, at least 19 vehicles torched and many more vandalised in Dhaka and elsewhere.

An on-duty executive magistrate was also critically injured in a crude bomb attack in Feni.

Having failed to attend a rally to mark "Democracy Killing Day" on January 5, BNP chief Khaleda Zia called the nonstop blockade from the following day, virtually crippling the country's road communication. The railway too suffered several attacks.

However, road communication was partially restored on long routes yesterday under special security measures.

The BNP has called hartals in Sylhet and districts for tomorrow, protesting the arrest of BNP's Vice-chairman Shomsher Mobin Chowdhury.

JUBO LEAGUE LEADER KILLED

The president of Anderchar union unit Jubo League, youth front of the ruling Awami League, of Noakhali Sadar upazila was beaten to death allegedly by political opponents in Laxmipur.

Mohammad Yusuf, 35, with his two brothers was returning home on a motorbike from Char Basubazar of Laxmipur's Kamalanagar upazila around 11:00pm on Thursday. Some unidentified miscreants, equipped with iron rods, waylaid them and beat Yusuf dead on the spot, Officer-in-Charge Kabir Ahmed of Kamalanagar Police Station said, quoting the injured brothers.

In retaliation, local AL men torched two motorbikes and vandalised five shops in the area, reports our Noakhali correspondent.

MAGISTRATE ATTACKED

In Feni, executive magistrate Abdul Quader, 35, was injured when blockaders exploded a crude bomb on his microbus on Shaheed Shahidullah Kaisar Road around 8:30pm when he patrolling streets to contain picketing, said Officer-in-Charge Mahbub Morshed of Feni Sadar Police Station.

Splinters penetrated the corneas of Quader's both eyes, said Dr Anwar Hossain of Feni Sadar Upazila Health Complex.

In other incidents, a truck and five battery-powered auto-rickshaws were set ablaze, and two covered vans and two microbuses vandalised in the district.

AND MORE VIOLENCE...

In Dhaka city, three people received burns after pickets set fire to their vehicles in two incidents.

Blockaders, impersonating passengers, poured petrol on a bus before setting it on fire at Mohammadpur around 11:00pm, leaving Khadem, 32, and Moazzem, 30, burnt.

 At Moghbazar, driver Abul Kalam, 26, was burned after blockade supporters hurled a petrol bomb on his car around 11:00pm.

All three burn victims were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, with Kalam reportedly in a critical condition.

Meanwhile, general secretary of BNP's Ward 3 unit Giasuddin received shotgun pellets in his thighs as police opened fire on blockaders in Kadamtoli area last night, said police.

At the DMCH, Giasuddin alleged the law enforcers had picked him up from his Shyampur Road house and shot him in the legs from a close range.

In Narayanganj, at least five BNP men were injured in a clash with police, a bus was torched at Fatullah and at least eight vehicles were vandalised at Nitaiganj by blockaders, reports our Narayanganj correspondent.

Police detained two BNP men and filed two cases against around 40 people, including district BNP President Taimur Alam Khandaker.

At least 20 blockaders were injured in a clash with police at Hukum Ali Bus Stand in Dhunat of Bogra, a BNP stronghold, around noon. Police detained around 50 people from there.

In Gazipur, alleged blockade supporters dismantled fishplates of the rail track at Vanua near Joydebpur Railway Junction. Two trains narrowly escaped accident due to timely sighting and speedy repair of the damage, reports our Gazipur correspondent.

Twelve Jamaat-Shibir men were held from a house at Gazipur's Noljani and five homemade bombs were recovered from them.

Our Dinajpur correspondent reports that blockaders hurled a petrol bomb to set a coal-laden truck on fire at Shimultoli village of Panchbibi upazila in Joypurhat on Thursday night. Later, firefighters with the help of locals doused it.

At least five blockaders were injured as they clashed with police at Ramchandrapur of Hajiganj in Chandpur yesterday evening, according to our correspondent there.

Meanwhile in Chapainawabganj, 277 people were accused in separate cases for attacking police, torching vehicles and other subversive activities, our correspondent reports.

SPECIAL SECURITY FOR TRANSPORT 

Escorted by law enforcers, both passenger and cargo vehicles have started operating between the major cities on a limited scale.

Law enforcers escorted over 2,700 trucks and buses to different destinations across the country, Border Guard Bangladesh claimed in a press release.

Under special security arrangements, the first convoy of around 150 vehicles left Chittagong port around 10:00pm on Thursday, said Hazi Munir Ahmed, president of Inter-district Goods Carrying Transport Owners and Labourers Forum.

All the vehicles reached their destinations safe, he told our Chittagong correspondent.

Some 20 buses left Rajshahi for the capital on Thursday night with police cars escorting them all the way.

Encouraging transport owners to operate on a broader scale, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan at a programme in the capital yesterday said that the government would compensate them if blockaders caused any casualty or damage.