Assailants torch bus, vandalise autorickshaw in Dhaka during BNP blockade

Md Sabuj, a bus driver, is hospitalised with burn injuries

A bus driver has suffered burn injuries after a group of arsonists set fire to his vehicle in Dhaka’s Khilgaon during a fresh 48-hour blockade called by the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.

An autorickshaw was also vandalised by protesters near the capital's BAF Shaheen College.

An Ashim Paribahan bus was torched in Meradia’s Bashpotti area around 7:30 am on Sunday, according to Inspector MA Hasan of Khilgaon Police Station. Its driver, 30-year-old Md Sabuj, has been admitted to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery.

The police have yet to arrest anyone in connection with the incident.

"Sabuj is in critical condition. He has suffered burns on 28 percent of his body, including damage to his respiratory system," said Tarikul Islam, resident physician at the burns institute.

Speaking to reporters at the hospital, Sabuj's wife said they live with their family in Merul Badda's Ananda Nagar. They are both natives of Mymensingh’s Fulpur Upazila.

Inspector Hasan said that the torched bus typically operates from Mirpur to Demra. Efforts are underway to arrest the assailant, he added.

AUTORICKSHAW VANDALISED NEAR BAF SHAHEEN COLLEGE

According to the police, a group of assailants, armed with sticks, attacked an autorickshaw in the Mohakhali area and fled.

"They struck the vehicle’s windshield, shattering it into pieces," said Sub-Inspector Jamilur Rahman of Tejgaon Police Station.

A private car and a few autorickshaws were also vandalised in the area, according to a report.

But SI Jamilur rejected the report, saying that traffic police and other police personnel were present at the scene during the attack. The attackers fled when the police intervened.