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| Bangladesh |
| Arson, blasts mark 2nd day of blockade |
| 2013-12-19 |
[Bangla Daily Star] Stray incidents of violence marked the second day of the 72-hour blockade yesterday as opposition men went kaboom!crude bombs and carried out arson attacks and vandalism across the country. Officials of the law enforcement agencies tossed in the clink ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... at least 57 men from different places, including Narayanganj, Feni, Lalmonirhat and Bogra districts for their alleged involvement in anarchy. A bus helper sustained burn injuries when myrmidons set fire to his vehicle in Teknaf early yesterday. The victim, Khairul Bashar, was asleep inside the parked bus when it was torched. He was rushed to Teknaf Upazila Health Complex. Bashar was released at about 7:00am after receiving treatment, reports our local correspondent. Amid the ongoing political turmoil, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan yesterday said the government would ensure the security of buses plying all highways from tomorrow. The minister came up with the announcement after a meeting with representatives of law enforcement agencies and bus owners and workers' associations. He assured bus owners that the members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) along with highway police would escort a group of 30 to 40 buses to their destinations, sources at the meeting said. In the capital, blockaders blasted homemade bombs in Gabtoli, Karwan Bazar, Mohammadpur, Green Road, Jatrabari, Adabar and Gulshan areas, according to locals. Six people from Green Road and Jatrabari were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with shrapnel wounds. A taxi was torched at Kawla near Shahjalal International Airport last night. During a raid at Mohammadpur's Sat Masjid Housing, Rab-2 allegedly seized 10 crude bombs from the possession of Anwaruzzaman Anwar, joint convener of BNP's Mohanagar committee. Many shops were seen open and the number of vehicles plying the roads in the capital was higher in comparison with previous days of blockade. On Tuesday night, the joint forces conducted special drives in Feni and held 34 Jamaat-Shibir men from Pathanbari in the town and Fazilpur area of Sadar upazila. In Bogra, 10 blockaders were placed in durance vile Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! during the joint forces' drives in different areas of the district. In Lalmonirhat, members of the joint forces arrested nine Jamaat-Shibir activists, including four women, from Kafir Bazar in Patgram upazila for their alleged involvement in violence and acts of sabotage during hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... s and blockades. A Bangladesh Chhatra League ... the student wing of the Bangla Awami League ... (BCL) leader was allegedly beaten by Jamaat men in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna yesterday. In Chittagong, blockaders set fire to five covered vans on Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Panthichila and Fakirhat areas of Sitakunda upazila between 11:00 pm and 4:00 am yesterday. Jamaat-Shibir men brought out a flash procession in Khatiber Bari area and hurled two crude bombs targeting a police van. Police detained an alleged Shibir activist, Forkan, in this connection. In Barisal, myrmidons set fire to a goods-laden truck on the Dhaka-Barisal highway at Kashipur around 2:00am. |
| Posted by:Fred |