Buses torched, trains bombed, leaders detained

Arson, vandalism, low traffic and detention of opposition leaders marked the second day of the three-day nationwide blockade by BNP and its allies.

On Wednesday, at least five buses were set on fire in Dhaka, exacerbating the situation in the northern part of the city, where garment workers were already staging agitations for a pay hike.

Public turnout remained low, much like on Tuesday, and kitchen marker insiders noted a rise in the prices of some essential commodities due to the supply chain disruption.

On Wednesday, unidentified attackers threw a crude bomb at the Maitree Express train near Ishwardi junction in Pabna. No passengers were injured. Around 12:40 pm, the crude bomb exploded beside the passing train as it was heading from Kolkata to Dhaka, according to Paksey Divisional Railway Manager Shah Sufi Nur Mohammad.

Masud Alam, additional superintendent of the district police, said efforts were underway to identify and apprehend the attackers.

As the political programme continued, BNP said the ongoing police crackdown on the party intensified. Many BNP leaders and activists, including top party leaders Mirza Abbas and Moazzem Hossain Alal, were arrested.

On Wednesday, two buses were torched in Dhaka's Shyamoli and Bhatara areas in the evening, fortunately without casualties, according to the police.

In Shyamoli, individuals posing as passengers boarded a bus bound for Gabtoli and set it on fire around 6:00 pm, said Mohammad Imrul, assistant commissioner (Traffic) of Mohammad Zone. The fire was quickly extinguished by police and locals.

At around 7:07 pm, another bus was set on fire opposite the Jamuna Future Park. Two firefighting units extinguished the blaze, as reported by Ershad Hossain, duty officer of the fire service control room.

Syed Monirul Islam, senior station officer of Baridhara fire station, mentioned that the bus was empty when it was set on fire.

Earlier in the day, at 11:00 am, two individuals set a bus of Midline Paribahan on fire in the Mugda area, leading to the detention of one man, Al Amin, 25, by police.

Around 4:00 pm, a bus belonging to Itihash Paribahan was set on fire near the Kafrul Police Station, according to media reports.

In another incident, two BNP supporters were detained for their involvement in setting a parked bus on fire in Savar's Modhumoti Model Town area earlier that day. Their identities were not disclosed.

Dipok Chandra Saha, officer-in-charge of Savar Model Police Station, claimed that 20-30 BNP supporters on motorcycles set fire to a Rimi Paribahan bus at the bus depot in the morning. Two of them were detained by the patrol team, and both were confirmed to be BNP activists.

In Bogura, clashes erupted between BNP leaders and activists who had blocked the Dhaka-Rangpur highway in the Tinmatha area of Bogura Sadar upazila at 8:00 am.

When police attempted to clear the blockade around 9:45 am, a clash erupted between the protesters and police.

Transport workers and leaders urged political parties to resolve the ongoing political deadlock through dialogue, as they were facing difficulties in earning their livelihoods due to political actions such as hartals and blockades.

Yousuf Ali Mridha, vice president of the Dhaka Bus and Minibus Road Transport Workers Union, made this appeal at an anti-hartal and blockade rally at Mohakhali Bus Terminal in the capital.

He said their buses and minibuses operated on Wednesday and would continue to do so in the days ahead. Mridha expressed concern that if they were unable to operate, the families of the workers would struggle to put food on the table.

A Dhaka metropolitan magistrate court placed Mirza Abbas, a standing committee member of BNP, on a five-day remand in a violence case filed with Shahjahanpur police station on Wednesday. Mirza Abbas was arrested on Tuesday night in the Shahidbagh Mosque lane area near Shahjahanpur.

BNP leader Moazzem Hossain Alal was also detained and remanded on the day. The BNP alleged that the government is indiscriminately arresting opposition leaders and activists across the country in an attempt to eliminate the BNP and other parties.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, senior joint secretary general of the party, stated that such arrests and placing individuals on remand have become the government's means to maintain power.

He also mentioned police actions against opposition activists during the ongoing blockade programme.

Rizvi claimed that a significant number of BNP leaders and activists have been arrested, injured and killed in police actions, as the government is trying to suppress stories of corruption and money laundering by the ruling party leaders.

He criticised the prime minister's statement on the violence and asserted that the people of the country do not believe the allegations made by the government regarding political violence.

Rizvi expressed concern about the conditions in which arrested BNP leaders and activists are being held in jail, emphasising the need for humane treatment.

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