At least 18 people have been injured, as suspected Opposition activists torched a commuter bus at Shahbagh on the third day of the 71-hour nationwide blockade, police say.
Published : 28 Nov 2013, 06:08 PM
The Mirpur-bound bus was set on fire in front of the Matsya Bhaban around 6:30pm on Thursday, said Shahbagh Police Station Inspector MA Jalil.
He said all the injured were taken to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).
DMCH burn unit doctors said some of the injured had suffered 90 percent burns and those with lesser wounds had 15 percent. The condition of four of them was critical, they said.
The injured were identified as Rupali Bank official Masuma Aktar, 25, First Security Islami Bank official Shafiqul Islam, 37, government official Jahangir Hossain Mridha, 40, lawyer Khodeja Nasrin, 43, police constable Nurunnabi, 45, Dhaka University political science department student Ohidur Rahman Babu, 25, Ekushey TV’s ‘Mukto Khobor’ child journalist Susmita Sen, 17, her mother Gita Sen, 45.
Others injured were bus driver Md Mahbub Hossain, 27, his assistant Hafizul Islam, 22, businessman Amzad Hossain, 40, 'Shamim’, 24, ‘Riad’, 22, ‘Nahid’, ‘Robin’, Abdur Razzak and ‘Rahajul’.
The identity of another was not yet known. Some other passengers had received minor injuries. They left after being given first aid.
However, journalists were not allowed at the special care unit where the injured are being treated.
Rupali Bank official Masuma told reporters the 'Bihanga Paribahan' bus was on its way to Mirpur when it was set alight.
The passengers saw the bus was on fire when it reached the Matsya Bhaban, triggering a frantic effort to get out.
Police rushed there and took the injured to DMCH immediately, said Shahbagh police Inspector Jalil.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Ramna division Deputy Commissioner Maruf Sardar told reporters there, “Initial investigation has found that a high-powered Molotov cocktail was hurled at the bus which ignited the fire.”
Bangladesh Medical Association Secretary General Iqbal Arslan also visited the injured at DMCH. “Conditions of four of the injured seem to be very critical. But it’s also hard to determine the condition of a burn patient at the initial stage,” he told reporters.
Eighteen people have reportedly died during the Opposition-sponsored blockade until Thursday evening.
Hundreds of vehicles were set on fire and damaged.
The Opposition had given the call for a blockade on Monday in protest against the schedule of the general election announced by the Election Commission.
It has been pressing for a non-party polls-time government to oversee the parliamentary elections.
A human hauler driver, injured in an arson in Dhaka, died in the early hours of Thursday. On the same day, a female bank official also succumbed to her injuries sustained in a bomb attack.
On Wednesday, nine people were injured in explosions at Chankharpul and another at Tikatuli in Dhaka.