Strikers clash with cops, explode bombs in city

Hartal supporters have clashed with police, vandalised vehicles, and exploded bombs in Dhaka as the 20-party alliance tries to enforce a daylong nationwide shutdown in Bangladesh. At least one person was injured in police firing during clashes in Mirpur on Monday morning. Traffic has been mostly unaffected but private vehicles, especially cars, were not seen on the streets in usual numbers. In the morning, BNP Joint Secretary General claimed the people were ‘spontaneously observing’ the general strike. Pallabi police station’s OC Ziauzzaman said a group of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami activists started vandalising vehicles in Dhaka’s Pallabi area inmmediate after the hartal took effect at 6am. The pro-hartal elements, hurling stones, fought pitched battles with police, who responded with baton charge, rubber bullets, and buckshots. A man, injured in buckshot, was rescued and rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said Ziauzzaman. Meanwhile, several bombs were exploded by suspected strkers at Mirpur 10. The BNP-led 20-party coalition called the dawn-to-dusk hartal protesting denial of their Gazipur rally permission and demanding release of their leaders, according to a news agency.