Arson attack on railways in Gazipur, blasts at police station

Police arrested a dozen Jamaat-Shibir men in Gazipur for arson attack on railways and blasting bombs during the 1st phase of nationwide 2-day shutdown on Thursday. Police and witnesses said, the activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir set fire on a pile of cotton on railway tracks near Joydebpur Rail Station in Gazipur Sadar Upazila around 7:30am. A section of the railway tracks were damaged due to the arson attack. A few minutes later, a group of Jamaat-Shibir men gathered near Gazipur Sadar Police Station and exploded some crude bombs in front of the entrance of Sadar thana. The party is enforcing the 1st round of general strike from 6:00am today (Thursday) protesting Supreme Court verdict that sentenced Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee to imprisonment unto death for war crimes. A team of Tongi Police Station launched drive in the town and its suburbs and rounded up 12 people for their alleged involvement with subversive activities. The arrestees are involved with Jamaat-Shibir politics, sources at the police station said, according to private TV channels.