3 killed on first day

The opposition's 72-hour blockade called suddenly on Friday night left at least three killed in violence and put thousands of travellers to real trouble on its first day yesterday.
Many of those who had started for different districts got stranded in the capital en route.
A number of people were perplexed after reaching inter-district bus terminals without knowing the announcement of the blockade, which came hours after another ended on Friday.
Some waited for long while some returned home.
Trucks and lorries laden with perishable goods, particularly vegetables, got stuck at different locations as the vehicles started after the end of the previous blockade on Friday.
Bangladesh Truck-Covered Van Owners Association feared that the entire transportation system on roads and highways will collapse if the current political impasse continues any longer.
At an urgent meeting of the executive committee of the association, the owners said if the government does not compensate the affected owners, they won't be able to return to business.
Like the earlier blockade, road communications between Dhaka and other districts remained suspended as the opposition men put up barricades on different highways and attacked people, vehicles and the railway network.
Rail links were snapped while ferry and launch services were also badly disrupted on various routes.
The BNP-led 18-party alliance called the blockade of roads, rail and waterways for the second time in seven days to press for the cancellation of polls schedule and protest “false cases” against its leaders and “torture and repression” of its activists.
Yesterday, the blockaders clashed with law enforcers, vandalised vehicles and exploded crude bombs in different districts, reported our district correspondents.
A pedestrian in Dhaka, a Shibir activist in Jhenidah and a blockader in Pabna were killed, pushing the death toll in the opposition's back-to-back blockades to 22.
In Dhaka, the pro-blockade activists hurled petrol bomb at a bus at Malibagh around 7:30pm. Losing control, the bus crushed to death Habibur Rahman, 35, a pedestrian, and injured a rickshaw-puller.  Two passengers suffered burn injuries in the bomb attack.
A pedestrian was injured in a blast at Bangshal around 2:00pm.
In Jhenidah, the dead activist Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, was Israfil Hossain, son of Shahidul Islam of Harindia village of Kotchandpur upazila.
Police said during a clash in Kotchandpur bus stand area the marauding Jamaat-Shibir-BNP activists threw petrol bombs, brick chips at them, prompting them to fire rubber bullets, said Jahid Hassan, assistant superintendent of police of Jhenidah.
Jamaat secretary Tajul Islam of Kotchandpur upazila said police fired live rounds without any provocation.
The Shibir activist sustained bullet injuries and he was rushed to Kotchandpur local health complex where the doctors declared him dead. Five more people, including policemen, were injured in the incident.
Jamaat called a daylong hartal at two upazilas of the district today in protest against the killing.
In Pabna, Mahbubul Islam, 26, was killed and five others were injured when a truck ploughed through opposition activists in Ishwardi upazila at 6:00pm.
He was identified by locals as an activist of Jubo Dal, a pro-BNP student body, police said.
Biman Kumar Das, officer-in-charge of Ishwardi Police Station, said the blockaders hurled brick chips at the Kushtia-bound truck at Mirkumari point on Rajshahi-Kushtia highway. As the driver sped up, he lost control over his wheels, resulting in the accident.
The activists set fire to the truck as the driver fled away.