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At least eight vehicles were set ablaze yesterday at several places of Dhaka ahead of the 36-hour nationwide shutdown called by the Bangladesh main opposition BNP and its allies. |
Tejgaon police station in-charge Apurba Hasan said that opposition supporters torched a CNG-driven auto-rickshaw at around 6:30pm near the Bijoy Sarani intersection.
A youth named ‘Ashik’ was also caught at the time from there, he added.
Banani police OC Bhuiyan Mahbub Hasan said a bus was torched in front of the Setu Bhaban at Mohakhali at around 7:30pm.
Earlier at around 3:45pm, Ramna police station inspector (patrol) Mohammad Shahid said miscreants torched a private bus near the National Press Club. He said the fire engulfed the bus ‘almost’ completely.
Fire service control room official Nilufar Yasmin said two units of fire-fighters rush to the spot to douse the flames.
She added a local bus was set on fire at around 4:15pm near the police box at Gabtoli.
She also said that a human hauler was torched around 1:30pm in front of Bangladesh Eye Hospital at Dhanmondi’s Satmasjid Road.
“Locals extinguished the fire that engulfed the vehicle,” she added.
Yasmin said miscreants also set another human hauler on fire at around 2:30pm near Farmgate.
A microbus was set on fire in Dhanmondi around 1pm, Dhanmondi police station inspector (patrol) Sazzad Hossain said.
“The driver parked the microbus in front of a restaurant. Miscreants set the vehicle afire by pouring petrol on it. Locals put out the fire immediately.” Some seats of the microbus were
gutted, he said.
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station OC Abdul Momin said a car was also torched near Metro Shopping Mall on Mirpur Road at around the
same time.
“People responded quickly to douse the flames,” he added.
The opposition alliance called the shutdowns for today and Wednesday to back demands for release of senior opposition leaders and activists and withdrawal of cases against them.