11 more die in arson attacks

At least 11 people were killed and many others were injured on the 29th day of indefinite countrywide blockade and 3rd day of 72-hour hartal called by the BNP-led 20-party alliance on Tuesday.

The hartal and blockade programmes also passed off amid stray incidents of violence, arson attacks, clashes and arrests of BNP-Jamaat activists.

However, the alliance Wednesday extended its ongoing 72-hour nationwide hartal by 36 hours until 6pm Thursday as part of its movement for what it said resorting democracy and people's voting rights.

Of the 11 dead, seven were killed in Comilla and two each in Barisal and Jessore.

In Comilla, seven were killed as miscreants hurled petrol bombs on a bus on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Chouddagram upazila of Comilla early Tuesday and 24 people were injured.

Unknown assailants bombed the Dhaka-bound bus of Icon Paribahan from Cox's Bazar in Jagamohanpur area at around 3:30am.

Among the dead, six people were primarily identified by the police.

They were Asma Begum and her son Shanto from Narsingdi, Nuruzzaman Paplu and his daughter Maysha Taslim, a ninth grader of Jessore police line school, Abu Eusuf and Abu Taher, from Cox's Bazar, and Wasim from Dhaka's Kaptanbazar.

Ten grievously injured persons were transferred to Dhaka Medical Hospital and the rest were admitted to different hospitals in Comilla and Chouddagram upazila.

Each of the deceased's families was given Tk 20,000 on behalf of the district administration for their burial while Tk 5,000 will be provided to the injured each.

Besides, police super of Comilla Tutul Chakrabarty announced a Tk 0.1 million (1 lakh) bounty for information leading to the arrest of the arsonists.

A covered van driver, who suffered burn injuries in a petrol bomb attack on his vehicle in the Jail area on the Laxmipur-Choumuhani Road on Monday night, died on way to Dhaka early Tuesday.

The deceased was identified as Kamal Hossain, son of Safayet Ullah, a resident of Banchanagar village in Sadar upazila.

He had been receiving treatment at Laxmipur Sadar Hospital following a petrol bomb attack at the covered van when it arrived in the Jail area on Laxmipur-Choumuhani road with passengers at 8:30 pm on Monday, leaving three people including Kamal with burn injuries.

Two activists of Jatiyatabadi Chattra Dal, youth wing of BNP, were brought to the Jessore Medical College Hospital early Tuesday as police said they were killed as a truck ran them over while trying to hurl petrol bombs.

The deceased were identified as Liton, 20, son of Atiar Rahman, a resident of Durgapur village and Yusuf, 22, son of Abdul Aziz, a resident of Taherpur village of the same upazila.

Police said they were killed as a truck ran them over while trying to hurl petrol bombs at the vehicle at Begaritala in Manirampur upazila on Tuesday morning.

However, relatives of the killed JCD men said two of them were picked up by plain-clothes police earlier on Monday night.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Reshma Sharmin said the Jessore-bound truck coming from Keshabpur upazila crushed the duo as they tried to hurl petrol bombs at the vehicle at around 7:00 am. They died on the spot.

Abdul Aziz, father of Yusuf, said they were picked up by plain-clothes police from their homes earlier on Monday night at around 12 am.

"We went to Manirampur police station in the morning to search him and we found dead body at the morgue," he said.

Another man identified himself as cousin of killed Liton told reporters his brother was picked up at around 12 am from home.

He said two of them were killed by police, not in accident. Police denied the claim.

In Barisal, a truck driver, Nur Hossain Shikder, 32, and his helper, Zafar Rari, 26, were killed as miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at their vehicle at Sundardi in Gaurnadi upazila early this morning.

Meanwhile, the BNP-led 20-party alliance on Wednesday extended its ongoing 72-hour nationwide hartal by 36 hours until 6pm Thursday as part of its movement for what it said resorting democracy and people's voting right.

In a statement, BNP joint secretary general Salahuddin Ahmed, on behalf of the alliance, announced the shutdown programme.

Now the shutdown that began at 6am on Sunday will end at 6pm Thursday.

The shutdown going on alongside the BNP alliance's nonstop countrywide transport blockade is also meant for protesting the arrest of its leaders and activists and the killing of its activists.

Earlier, the BNP-led 20-party alliance on Friday called a 72-hour nationwide hartal from 6am on Sunday.

In Dhaka, two buses were torched in front of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and Gabtali bus stand respectively in Tuesday evening and afternoon 4 pm. Another passenger bus was torched in Tuesday morning at the Malibag crossing.

Nobody was injured from the arson attacks.

Meanwhile, handmade bombs have been exploded near the Awami League headquarters in Dhaka.

No casualties were reported. The explosions took place when a rally was in progress there on Tuesday.

Two bombs exploded at both ends of the street leading to the office at the capital's Gulistan area.

Activists of the ruling party and its affiliates had gathered to attend a rally in protest of the BNP-sponsored blockade and shutdowns.

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