2 killed in \\\'gunfight\\\' as blockade passes 30th day

At least two people were killed in 'gunfight' and many others injured across the country on the 30th day of countrywide indefinite blockade and 4th day of 108-hour hartal, called by the BNP-led 20-Party Alliance on Wednesday.
The hartal and blockade programmes passed off amid stray incidents of violence, arson attacks, clashes and arrests of BNP-Jamaat activists.
Two suspected miscreants were killed in a 'gunfight' with members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at Jatrabari in the capital. The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained.
SI (sub-inspector) Momin of Jatrabari police said the incident took place at Katherpool at around 2.0am on Wednesday.
RAB's media wing director Mufti Mahmud said: "A RAB team was patrolling at Katherpool under Matuail when two youths hurled petrol bombs at its vehicle. The RAB officials then opened fire that left the duo injured with bullets."
He said the injured youths were admitted at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where doctors declared them dead. The bodies were kept at DMCH morgue for autopsy.
Meanwhile, police arrested two former BNP lawmakers - Nazim Uddin and Ashraf Uddin Nizan - from Motijheel area in the capital.
Motijheel OC Forman Ali told the Financial Express that the BNP leaders were arrested on charges of carrying out subversive activities.
"Police arrested the duo when they went to express solidarity with Krishak Sramik Janata League President Kader Siddique's sit-in programme in front of the party's Motijheel office at around 2:30pm."
The BNP leaders are accused in several cases filed over sabotage, he added.
Besides, K M Mujibur Rahman, a central Jamat leader, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon from the capital's Hazaribag area.
Two crude bombs were exploded in TSC area of Dhaka University while the car of Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Nur was crossing it.
Shahbagh OC Sirajul Islam said the miscreants set two crude bombs off in the area at around 1:30pm on Wednesday. However, none was detained in connection with the incident. Another crude bomb was also exploded in the same area at around 3pm.
Two Jatiyotabadi Chhatra Dal activists were beaten by Chhatra League activists on Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology (BUET) campus in the afternoon for alleged carrying of bombs. Later, they were handed over to Shahbag police.
A passenger bus of Classic Paribahan was torched at Mirpur-10 crossing on Wednesday afternoon.
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