Chhatra League activist arrested while ‘planning to torch bus’ in Shyampur

The 22-year-old has allegedly confessed to attempting to set a bus on fire with the intent of sabotage

Police have reportedly arrested a man planning to torch a bus on the Dhaka-Mawa Highway in the Shyampur Thana area.

The arrestee, 22-year-old Siam Sarkar, is an activist of the Kadamtali Thana unit of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League group, according to the authorities.

He was arrested early on Sunday morning during a raid conducted in the Khandaker Road area of the highway, said Shafiqul Islam, chief of Shyampur Police Station.

“A knife and a bottle of octane were recovered from his possession,” he added.

In a statement, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said that a team from the Shyampur Model Police Station went to the scene based on a tip-off and caught Siam “as he was fleeing”. Another Chhatra League activist named Rafsan managed to flee.

The DMP added that Siam had confessed to attempting to set fire to a bus in the Shyampur area along with the absconding Rafsan “with the intent of sabotage”.