The first day of a countrywide 36-hour hartal amid the 20th day of the nationwide blockade, enforced by the BNP-led 20-party combine, passed off on Sunday without major incidents of violence in Dhaka and elsewhere.
In protest against the arrest of its leaders and activists, the alliance called the hartal from 6:00am on Sunday to 6:00pm on Monday alongside the countrywide non-stop blockade.
BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the shutdown and said it also meant for protesting the government's move for increasing power tariff.
Law enforcers arrested 21 BNP-Jamaat activists in Narail while three in Dhaka, 53 in Noakhali, 49 in Pabna, 18 in Comilla, three in Kushtia, 42 in Satkhira, 11 in Chittagong, two in Natore, 22 in Bogra, 40 in Jessore, 47 in Rajshahi, five in Manikganj and eight in Feni during the period between Saturday night and Sunday morning.
During the hartal hours on Sunday, miscreants hurled at least two crude bombs at a bus of Bihanga Paribahan around 9:45am at Karwanbazar in Dhaka.
In Kishoreganj, two passengers of a bus sustained injuries in a petrol bomb attack on their vehicle at Sukhia in Pakundia upazila Saturday night.
In Natore, the driver of a truck and another person were burnt as miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at the vehicle at Gazir Beel in the district town early Sunday.
In Naogaon, at least two buses were set ablaze by miscreants in Dhaka bus stand area of the district town early Sunday, hours before the start of the shutdown.
Meanwhile, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Director General Benazir Ahmed and Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed Sunday defended using arms in self-defence and extrajudicial killings.
Mr Aziz Ahmed said it would not be a violation of human rights if BGB members fire shots in self-defence. The BGB chief made the remarks while talking to reporters after inaugurating some new buildings of BGB, including the headquarters of Rangpur BGB North-West region. bdsmile@gmail.com
