Buses set ablaze in Dhaka

Two buses have been set on fire in Dhaka’s Tati bazar and Kaptan Bazar amid the BNP-sponsored indefinite transport blockade.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 30 Jan 2015, 05:20 AM
Updated : 30 Jan 2015, 10:41 AM

No casualties were reported in the incidents, police said.

Wari police OC Tapon Kumar Pal said pro-blockade supporters set fire to a Gulistan-bound bus of Madina Enterprise around 2:30pm on Friday.

Later, three fire service units doused the flames, said control unit official Khandaker Abdul Jalil.

Earlier, Bangshal Police OC Abdul Kuddus Fakir said a Victor Paribahan bus of the Sadarghat-Abdullahpur route had been on fire around 8:30am on Friday.

Two fire service units doused the flames but the bus had been gutted by then, said fire service official Enayet Hossain.

Bashar Sheikh, the driver, said around 12-14 persons were onboard the bus. When it was set on fire near English Road, the passengers jumped out of the windows.

He thinks troublemakers, disguised as passengers, may have committed the act of arson.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia called the nonstop blockade after being prevented from holding a rally on Jan 5.

Cases of arson, bombing and vandalism have been frequent since then.

At least 39 persons have died in blockade violence across the country in 24 days, while many others have been burnt in fire-bombing and arson attacks on vehicles.

The BNP chief had been accused in a case involving two incidents, but she seemed determined to carry on with the blockade.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed police forces to thwart violence ‘at any cost’.