Blockade passes 37th day

The fourth day of weeklong nationwide shutdown in addition to nonstop blockade enforced by Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance passed off almost peacefully on Wednesday barring some stray incidents of arson attacks at places. At least 10 more people were burnt and several others were injured in arson attacks and explosion of crude bombs in separate incidents across the country. Presence of vehicles on the streets in the cities including the capital was almost normal. Private offices and business establishments were also open. Traffic congestion was witnessed at different intersections in the capital too as the vehicular movement on the streets was increasing with every passing day. The opposition alliance called the indefinite road-rail-waterways blockade on January 5 which passed its 36th day on Tuesday. In addition, the alliance had called a 72-hour countrywide general strike which was later extended up to Friday morning in protest at killing of ‘numerous’ opposition leaders and activists in the name of crossfire and demanding ‘restoration’ of democracy. Transports were operating in lesser number on inter-district and long routes in daytime during the blockade and strike while the transport owners have stopped operating buses on highways during night time.

The schedule of the train services was almost normal while launches operated as usual. Pickets brought out a very few processions and charged few crude bombs at places in the capital. Law enforcers arrested nearly 400 BNP and Jamaat activists and recovered several crude bombs from the capital and elsewhere in the country. In Dhaka, miscreants charged a crude bomb in front of the Paltan police station in the evening. Rapid Action Battalion members arrested two young men and recovered 10 petrol bombs from their possession at Gulshan 1 at around 7:30pm. At least two people were injured when a crude bomb was thrown in front of Dhaka University’s Fine Arts faculty on the DU Campus in the evening. Blockaders set fire to a bus of Shikar Paribahan at Mirpur 10 crossing at around 8:30pm. No casualties were reported. A transport worker was burnt when miscreants threw a petrol bomb on a truck at Rampura in Feni. Miscreants charged a crude bomb on a prison van at Bandar Bazar in Sylhet which prompted police to open fire into the air. No one was injured in the incident.

A group of miscreants set fire to land registration office in Tangail during which a large part of the documents in the office was burnt to ashes. Meanwhile, two police were injured when miscreants charged a crude bomb in front of the gate of the book fair in Khulna. In Chittagong, Miscreants set fire to a bus at Daampara area on Wednesday morning.  No casualties were, however, reported. Earlier on Tuesday night, a truck was set on fire at Chittagong Port connecting road and a covered van was set ablaze at Glaxo-Kalirhat area in the port city. Police arrested two youths with petrol bombs on the night. Blockaders set fire to a private car at New Bus terminal area at Maizdee in Noakhali on Tuesday night. Though the car was reduced to ashes, no casualties were, however, reported. At the same time, blockaders damaged three trucks and five CNG-driven three wheelers in Maizdee. Blockaders set fire to at least three parked buses of Star Line transport services at Mahipal in Feni at around 11pm on Tuesday. None was, however, injured in the arson attacks. Besides, a police constable was injured when miscreants threw a petrol bomb and six crude bombs at the compound of a police outpost in Feni town on Tuesday night. Earlier at around 9pm on Tuesday, at least ten passengers were burnt when miscreants threw petrol bombs on a passenger bus at Amirgaon in Daganbhuiyan in the district. Islami Chhatra Shibir brought out a procession in Gazipur during which they damaged several vehicles on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, miscreants set fire to the office of a local unit of ruling Awami League at Demra in early hours on Wednesday in the city. Bogra correspondent reported a group of miscreants, presumably BNP-Jamaat activists, vandalised the house of local AL leader at Gokul in the district. Bangladesh Nationalist Party joint secretary general Salah Uddin Ahmed on Wednesday alleged the law enforcers were concocting stories after killing opposition leaders and workers in the name of crossfire and warned that the government forces would not be able to shirk their responsibility of carrying out these brutal and barbaric acts. Claiming that the prime minister cannot give amnesty to the law enforcers or the government officials through verbal instructions, the BNP leader said, those government officials and members of law enforcers who were doing excesses going beyond the law or carrying out extra-judicial killings would have to shoulder the responsibility by themselves.

He alleged although the ruling party miscreants were being caught red handed while charging petrol bombs, they were not being arrested and tried. Salah Uddin called on the leaders and activists of the ‘20-party’ alliance as well as people to peacefully continue the movement for restoring democracy in the country. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, in a statement, on Wednesday alleged the members of law enforcers were carrying out wholesale arrests across the country and indiscriminately killing opposition leaders and activists. Law enforcers in their drives rounded up nearly 400 suspected leaders and activists of BNP and Jamaat from across the country from Tuesday night to Wednesday noon. The law enforcers have been conducting countrywide drives since the beginning of the blockade and arresting some 350-400 suspected opposition activists every day, they claimed. Of those arrested on Wednesday, 12 in the capital, 23 in Bogra, 31 in Jessore, 27 in Narail, 10 in Rangpur, 30 in Khulna, 40 in Rajshahi, 38 in Dinajpur, 14 in Gaibandha and 17 in Comilla.

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