One killed, buses set on fire in city Countrywide hartal today

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A parked bus was torched in front of city's Eden Girls' College Saturday afternoon. — FE photo

The main opposition BNP is set to enforce a countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal today (Sunday) in protest against the disappearance of the party's organising secretary M Ilias Ali, reports UNB.
The party blamed the government for the 'disappearance' of Ilias, also a former MP. He remained missing since Tuesday night.
Components of the BNP-led 18-Party Alliance-Jamaat-e-Islami, BJP, IOJ, Khelafat Majlish, LDP, JAGPA, NAP, Kalyan Party, NPP, Liberal Democratic Party, Muslim League, Islamic Party, Democratic League and Jamiat-e-Olama-e-Islam-extended their support to the shutdown.
BNP also threatened to enforce a nonstop hartal if Ilias is not returned. As part of the countrywide programmes in protest against Ilias' disappearance, BNP held rallies and brought out procession at thana level of the capital in favour of today's hartal.
An FE report adds: One person was killed and six buses and a microbus were set ablaze in pre-hartal violence in different parts of the city on Saturday.
A bus driver was burned to death when the vehicle was torched by pro-hartal activists in front of Khidmah Hospital at Khilgaon in the afternoon.
The charred body of driver Badar Ali, 40, of Eagle Paribahan was rescued and rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy.
Khilgaon thana sub-inspector Sajedul Hoque said that the bus was set on fire at around 1:45pm.
Four other buses were set alight between 1:30pm and 7 pm at Gulistan intersection, in front of Azimpur Eden Womens' College, Abdullahpur near Uttara, in front of Jagannath University in the old city and Mirpur section-I. A microbus of Public Administration Ministry was set ablaze at Fakirerpool at about 4:30 pm.
The bus fire at Gulistan was doused by passers-by. Fire Brigade personnel put off the fire in other vehicles.
"We could not immediately ascertain who set the fires or how they were set," an official of Fire Brigade told the FE.
Opposition BNP called the countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal on Sunday protesting the "disappearance" of former lawmaker and party's organising secretary (Sylhet Division) M Ilias Ali along with his driver Tuesday night.
The administration deployed ten mobile courts in the city to check violence before and during the hartal.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Benazir Ahmed said law enforcing agencies will take a tough position to fend off any violence during hartal hours.
He told the media after holding a meeting at Rajarbagh Police Lines that no indiscipline during the hartal will be tolerated.
"Hartal is democratic right of the political parties. But our duty is to ensure security of life and property. We will do anything necessary for ensuring security of the people," the commissioner said.
He said that the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) wing under the Detective Branch of police will also be deployed to maintain law and order in the capital during the hartal hours.
A DMP high official told the FE Saturday that a large number of law enforcers will be deployed in different parts of the city to avert any untoward incidents and keep the law and order situation under control.
Meanwhile, most of the shopping malls and centres in the city were shut closed before the evening. Buses of many routes were withdrawn causing sufferings to the commuters.