The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main opposition party in the nation, called for a three-day strike. As a result, hundreds of buses in Dhaka were purportedly set on fire by BNP employees.
The BNP’s Joint Secretary General, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, had demanded an immediate resignation of the Awami League government headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and had called for a three-day nationwide blockade to begin on October 31.
On Wednesday, five minibuses and an ambulance were set ablaze in different parts of the capital city. The police have said that they have arrested one person regarding this incident.
In the Baridhara area — the diplomatic zone of Dhaka — the miscreants set ablaze a minibus belonging to Boishakhi Paribahan on Wednesday evening, said Rozina Akter, Fire Service Control Room officer.
Three ambulances and five minibuses were set on fire in various locations throughout the capital city on Wednesday. Regarding this incident, the police have stated that they have taken one person into custody.
A minibus owned by Boishakhi Paribahan was set on fire by miscreants on Wednesday night in the Baridhara area of Dhaka, which is the diplomatic zone, according to Rozina Akter, an officer in the Fire Service Control Room.
A university bus that was private was set on fire in Mirpur. According to Fire Service Control Room duty officer Rashed Bin Khaled, there were no casualties reported in this incident.
In Shyamoli, criminals got on a Welcome Paribahan bus headed for Gabtoli and set it on fire in front of Shyamoli Square while posing as passengers.
All of the passengers were able to exit the minibus safely, according to Muhammad Imrul, the DMP Mohammadpur Zone’s Assistant Commissioner (Traffic).
A university bus in Mirpur, which was privately owned, caught fire. There were no reported casualties in this incident, according to Fire Service Control Room duty officer Rashed Bin Khaled.
A bus carrying passengers from Welcome Paribahan headed towards Gabtoli was hijacked by miscreants in Shyamoli, who then set it on fire in front of Shyamoli Square.
Every passenger on the minibus was able to exit safely, according to Muhammad Imrul, Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) of DMP Mohammadpur Zone.
The miscreants also set fire to an ambulance of a private hospital near the Mohakhali flyover.
In the Mugda area, the miscreants set ablaze another bus. Mugda police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdul Majid said the police have detained a youth in connection with the incident while his accomplices managed to flee.
The officer said that the accused is a BNP member.
In Kafrul, Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP members reportedly set a passenger bus of Itihash Paribahan on fire.
The incident’s miscreants fled the scene while locals put out the flames, according to Officer-in-Charge (OC) Farukul Alam Kafrul, who spoke to IANS.
To further enforce the blockade, the miscreants set fire to the tires of vehicles and blocked the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Siddhirganj.
Concurrently, the long-distance buses have ceased operations from Gabtali due to security concerns.
The movement of long-route buses was low on Thursday — the third day of the strike — though the number of local public transport plying on the roads witnessed good movement as compared to the previous two days.
Former BNP General Secretary, Mamun Mahmud, has allegedly enforced the blocked on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in the Sanarpar area of Siddhirganj.
Meanwhile, a court in Dhaka has sent Lieutenant General (Retd) Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardi to eight-day remand in connection with an alleged case of committing treason.
He had introduced a person who had falsely claimed to be a close associate of US President Joe Biden in a bid to destabilise the country.
Sarwardi was arrested from Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka by a team of DB police.
