Train set on fire in Gazipur
Train set on fire in Gazipur
Miscreants set fire to a passenger train in Gazipur today during the fifth day of hartal sponsored by the BNP-led 20-party alliance clamped on top of their nationwide blockade.
- Truck helper killed, 2 burnt in Bogra arson
- 76 BNP-Jamaat activists held in Dhaka
- Violence death toll rises to 52
Today is the 31th day of the blockade and fifth day of the hartal (shutdown) which has already compelled deferral of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams twice now.
In Gazipur, Dhaka-bound ‘Turag-1’ was set on fire at Joydebpur Railway Station around 6:25am. One person was said to have been held on suspicion from the spot.
Syedur Rahman, assistant director of Bangladesh Railway, quoted his sources to tell The Daily Star Online that two people disguised as passengers torched one carriage of the train.
“Two seats were gutted. However, no one was hurt. This is sabotage,” he said.
This was the eighth incident of sabotage on trains during the violence that spiraled from the start of this year, incurring an estimated loss of Tk 17 crore.
In Bogra, another innocent commoner was killed and two were burnt after miscreants firebombed a truck in Bogra town around 4:45am, our local correspondent reports.
This death raised the death toll of the prevailing spell of this year’s political violence to at least 52 including at least 36 who were not involved in politics.
In Dhaka, police detained 76 BNP-Jamaat activists from different places of metropolitan area in the past 24 hours, Dhaka Metropolitan Police said in a text message.
About 50 people were held from the capital in the last two days. Police said they were all BNP-Jamaat activists held on charges of subversive activities.
In Pirojpur, a pick-up van was set on fire in the Amrajhuri ferry terminal under Kaukhalia upazila around 3:00am, our local correspondent reports quoting Mamun, a sub-inspector of Kaukhali Police Station.
No other major untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the country until filing of this report around 11:00am.