Hartal progressing with stray incidents

Food secretary’s vehicle vandalised; several vehicles torched and smashed

 

Dhaka Mohanagar Chhatra League brings out an anti-hartal procession at Mohakhali in the capital during the 18-party-sponsored countrywide hartal on Tuesday.

The countrywide daylong hartal called by the BNP-led 18-party alliance is progressing with some stray incidents of violence in the capital and other parts of the country on Tuesday.
The hartal witnessed some incidents of vandalism, arson, cocktail explosion and detention at different city points including Dhaka University area, Kakrail, Farmgate, Mirpur and Jatrabari.
Around five vehicles were vandalised and two others were torched during the hartal in the city.
Law enforcers and pro-hartal activists also locked in chase and counter-chase at several city points.
Vandalism, arson, detention, chase and counter-chase between law enforcers and pro-hartal activists were also reported from different districts of the country including Narayanganj, Rajshahi, Pabna, Lalmonirhat, Narsingdi and Feni.
Pickets vandalised the vehicle of food secretary in front of Kakrail Mosque.
A number of pro-hartal activists suddenly came with a procession, smashed the vehicle and fled the scene, witnesses said.
Later, police detained several people for their alleged involvement with the vandalism.
Meanwhile, police cordoned off the central office of BNP in the capital’s Nayapaltan area, keeping a group of leaders and activists of the party including Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Amanullah Aman inside it.
Two vehicles were vandalised in Farmgate area and pickets tried to block the Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue setting ablaze tyres in the early hours of Tuesday.
Near Sony Cinema Hall in Mirpur, pro-hartal activists brought out a sudden procession and exploded several cocktails.
In Jatrabari, nearly 25 stick and machete-wielding workers of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami brought out a procession and torched two vehicles and smashed same number of vehicles near Wapda Colony around 6:30am. Jatrabari police later detained two people from the spot.
Witnesses said when another group of Jamaat men tried to bring out a procession some yards off the spot, Rapid Action Battalion members opened blank fire to disperse them.
Besides, a final year student of Eden College, Nurun Nahar Sarkar, 23, was injured when police fired rubber bullets to disperse pickets at Jelepara in South Jatrabari area around 11:10am, victim's maternal uncle Himel said.
She was rushed to Medi Bangla, a local medical centre, where she received primary treatment, the uncle said.
In North Dania and Kazla areas of Jatrabari, several pickets tried to block the Dhaka-Chittagong highway putting logs and setting afire tyres around 7:30am.
As police chased them, the pro-hartal activists fled the scene.
Nearly 60 activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat, came with a rally around 6:30am at Kutubkhali in Jatrabari. When police chased them, they fled the scene.
Police fired several rounds of teargas canisters when nearly 40 BNP men led by local leader Nabiullah Nabi brought out a procession at Shaheed Faruque Road in Jatrabari.
Due to the hartal, all examinations under National University and the ongoing school final examinations across the country have been postponed.
The hartal was seen tight enough in the city with very low presence of city services. Private cars stayed off the city thoroughfares fearing vandalism.
Huge contingent of law enforcers were deployed at all the key points and intersections in the capital to main law and order situation.
The shutdown came just a day after the opposition alliance’s eight-hour long countrywide road blocked where two people were killed and 290 injured.
The hartal was called Sunday night protesting what the opposition alliance said government sabotage of their blockade programme.
On the eve of the hartal on Monday, police arrested BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir when he was leaving the party's Nayapaltan office.
The arrest was made a day after filing a case against him in connection with road blockade violence.