The capital again witnessed arson attacks as protesters set fire to at least 10 vehicles over two days during a fresh spell of 72-hour hartal called by the BNP-led 20 party alliance on Saturday.
More than 100 people, mostly commoners and the transport workers, have been killed during the agitation, over 60 of them succumbing to serious burn injuries. More than 150 vehicles have been gutted.
The vehicles set on fire included a microbus Desh TV, a popular channel owned by Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor.
Outside Dhaka, at least three people, including a woman and her daughter, suffered burn injuries as suspected anti-government activists firebombed a passenger train at Shahjibazar Railway Station in northeastern Habiganj last night. The victims were rushed to nearby hospitals with serious burn injuries. Police detained six people for their alleged involvement in the attack.
As firebombing continued, police on Sunday shot at Rinku, an alleged activist of the BNP’s student front for hurling petrol bombs on buses in northern Rajshahi city.
The law enforcers also detained at least 10 BNP and Jamaat-Shibir activists from different parts of Dhaka during raids. In Southern Faridpur, the Rapid Action Battalion detained a youth, a suspected bomb supplier, with 25 petrol bombs.
