A bus operated by Malancha Paribahan was set on fire in the capital's Sutrapur area on Tuesday evening.
It was set ablaze around 6:00pm, marking the ninth vehicle arson incident in just two days (Monday and Tuesday).
According to eyewitnesses, the bus was set on fire when it was parked.
Duty Officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defence office Rafi Al Faruk said a unit of firefighters was dispatched to the scene and they brought the fire under control.
He, however, could not immediately determine the actual cause of the fire.
On Monday evening, three buses - two of Raida Paribahan and one of Rajdhani Paribahan - were torched in the Jatrabari, Uttara, and Bashundhara areas.
Earlier in the day, a moving bus of Shanto-Mariam University of Creative Technology caught fire in front of Labaid Hospital in Dhanmondi.
Two buses were set alight on Tuesday morning in the Merul Badda and Shahjadpur areas.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali told a press conference at the DMP Media Centre on Tuesday afternoon that nine vehicles had been deliberately set on fire over the past 48 hours.
In connection with the broader wave of arson attacks, which began following a series of crude bomb explosions in recent days, police registered 17 cases and arrested 50 individuals in the past 24 hours.
The authorities have not yet identified a specific motive for the targeted attacks on the vehicles.
But they are investigating possible links to the ongoing civil unrest and retaliatory violence.
Security has been tightened around major bus terminals and transport hubs across the capital.
The repeated arson attacks have sparked public concern over the safety of commuters and the effectiveness of law enforcement in preventing targeted violence against public infrastructure.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com
