Chittagong is a bustling city during daytime but fear spreads as night falls with residents anticipating violence that has been part of a transport blockade and shutdowns enforced by the BNP-led alliance.
Published : 06 Mar 2015, 12:10 PM
Subrata Dhar Mithu, a resident of the city’s Chandgaon area, told bdnews24.com, “When evening sets in, we feel terrorised.
“We feel frightened to move around after dark due to the blasts, firebombing and arson attacks on vehicles.”
Most residents scurry around through the day to finish their daily work so that they can move into the safety of their homes by evening. But that is not always possible.
“The fear increases after dark. Someone or the other of the family has to step out after sunset for some reason. We keep worrying until they return.”
Chittagong Metropolitan Police’s Commissioner Jalil Mandal told bdnews24.com, “Terrorists chose to strike mainly between 7pm and 10pm.”
Assistant Commissioner Shah Mohammad Abdur Rouf told bdnews24.com: “In the dark, criminals can emerge from small roads and alleys and carry out sudden attacks that are not possible during the day.
“It is also difficult for the police to catch them as the miscreants find it easy to escape through those routes in the dark.”
Police fired back in the Bahaddarhat incident but could not detain or arrest anyone.
‘Ridwan’, 50, was waiting for a bus at the C&B intersection on Feb 25 when blockaders blasted crude bombs there. He died on the spot.
‘Idris’ was another ill-fated victim, who died five days after being burnt when the auto-rickshaw he was on got firebombed at Shahmirpur area of Karnaphuli on Feb 11.
Police and RAB have announced rewards for information on ‘anarchists’.
Law enforcers have recovered a large number of weapons, ammunition and bombs from around the city in various raids.
They have also detained ‘anarchists’. A group of bomb-makers, who sold them to blockade supporters, were also arrested.
Mohammad Sakib, a member of the Islami Chhatra Shibir, was critically injured on Jan 20 when a crude bomb went off in his hand during an attempt to create trouble at the city’s Kadamtali area. He died in a private hospital in Dhaka a week later.
He added that there was no substitute for mass awareness in fighting such acts of violence. “We are daily consulting the residents of various city areas. We have also offered bounties.”
“Next week, we will form committees consisting of general people in various areas to guard against violence.”