Blockade continues sans thaw in standoff

The 12th day of the prolonged blockade, enforced by the BNP-led 20-Party Alliance, passed off Saturday amid arson attacks, blasts and arrests in the capital and elsewhere across the country, with no signs of a thaw in sight over the deadlock.

Two people, including a female student of Jagannath University, suffered burn injuries in separate incidents of arson attacks in Dhaka and Chittagong cities on Friday night and Saturday during the nationwide nonstop blockade.

Issuing a statement from confined BNP Chairperson's office, however, BNP Vice-Chairperson Selima Rahman said the blockade will go on until their demands are met, the main one being announcement of a new national election schedule under a neutral administration.

In Dhaka, a female student of Jagannath University (JnU) received minor burns when unidentified attackers set a passenger bus afire in Old Dhaka's Rayerbagh area on Saturday morning.

Witnesses said the bus was attacked around 8:30am, leaving Sultana Islam, a Masters student of Anthropology, injured. Later, she took primary treatment at the National Medical College Hospital in Old Dhaka.

Rashedul Hassan, on-duty doctor at the hospital, told the Financial Express: "Sultana sustained minor injuries. We gave her primary treatment and sent home for taking rest."

Officer-in-charge of Jatrabari Police Station Abani Sankar Kar told FE that, being informed, a fire-fighting unit rushed in and put out the blaze. Four to five other people were also injured.

On the other hand, miscreants torched another passenger bus in the capital's Mirpur area around 7am, said on-duty police member Faruq of Mirpur Police Station.

Later, firefighters doused the blaze.  However, there was no report of any casualty in the incident.

A bus was also torched at the Technical crossing in Mirpur at 5:00 pm. One person, identified as Angur, 25, was caught during bomb hurling at the technical crossing by local people. Later, local Awami League activists beat and handed him over to police.

Officer-in-charge of Darul Slama Police Station Rafiqul Islam told the FE two units of fire service reached the place of incident and doused the fire. No injury was reported.

The BNP-led 20-party alliance brought out a number of processions in Malibagh, Uttara, Lalbagh, Dhanmondi and Mirpur areas. They blockaded the roads and demanded fresh polls.

In Chittagong a rickshaw-puller, Fazlur Rahman, 52, sustained burn injuries as miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at his rickshaw at Biswa Colony under Akbar Shah Police Station of the city around Friday midnight on his way back home.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdul Mazid of Akbar Shah police station told the FE over phone the injured was admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH).

In Rajshahi a 36-hour hartal has been called in eight districts of Rajshahi division from this (Sunday) morning in protest against the 'killing of a Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader by Rab men' in Chapainawabganj on Friday.

The decision to enforce the shutdown came at an emergency meeting of the combine held in Rajshahi city in the evening.

Confirming the lockdown programme, Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) mayor Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul, also a member of the BNP central executive committee, told the FE the hartal would begin at 6am Sunday and end at 6pm tomorrow (Monday).

In Rajbar Local BNP called Saturday a daylong hartal in the district for tomorrow (Monday) to protest the 'confinement' of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia to her Gulshan office and demand fresh election under a non-party caretaker administration.

District BNP president Ali Newaj Mahmud Khayyam confirmed the shutdown call to The Financial Express over phone.

In Bogra a sugar-laden truck was torched on the Bogra-Dhaka Highway on Saturday noon. No injury was reported. At least 16 activists of Jamaat-BNP duo were arrested during the incident.

Meanwhile, reports of violence also came from various other districts, including Narayanganj, Gazipur, Joypurhat, Rajshahi, Jhenidah, Gaibandha,  Noakhali and Luxmipur.

Noakhali BNP also called a day long hartal for today (Sunday) to protest the arrests of BNP-Jamaat activists and the killing of a local BNP leader.

In Joypurhat, a goods-laden truck was set on fire, while the vehicle was running under escort by the law enforcers.

Khulna division Shibir called a daylong hartal for today (Sunday) in protest against the arrest of their Khulna division president. The hartal will be effective in all districts of Khulna division.

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