Morning chaos rattles Dhaka

1 killed, 14 vehicles set ablaze as opposition launches surprise showdown; another killed in Sylhet; BNP, govt trade blames over violence

A bus set on fire with a Molotov cocktail by a band of youths on the capital's Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue yesterday around 10:00am. Photo: Anisur Rahman

Staff correspondent

At daybreak yesterday, a series of crude homemade bombs went off in central Dhaka as hundreds of activists of BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami clashed with police, smashed more than a dozen vehicles and set some of those on fire.

At least one person was killed and several others were injured.

Police said they were investigating whether the rampages so early in the morning were acts of sabotage. The violence in a city still covered with fog stunned many residents, especially the Muslim devotees going to mosques to say Fajr prayers and the morning walkers.

The on-again off-again clashes were centered mainly in Naya Paltan, Shantinagar, Shahbagh, Karwan Bazar, Jatiya Press Club and Motijheel areas, and continued almost throughout the day causing heavy traffic disruption and panic among commuters.

Police said a 24-year-old man identified as Arifuzzaman Arif was killed when a crude bomb exploded outside a hotel in Motijheel around 10:00am. The blast also injured Jahangir, a restaurant owner of Sayedabad.

Several other people were injured in the violence in the neighbouring areas.

More than 50 handmade cocktails went off in these areas. Fourteen vehicles including a police van, buses and taxicabs were torched, said Masudur Rahman, additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, (DMP).

Police detained 249 opposition activists in Shahbagh, Kakrail, Motijheel and Naya Paltan areas, he said.

Five cases were filed late last night in connection with the violence in the capital.

Arif's father Joynal Abedin filed a murder case with Motijheel Police Station without mentioning the name of any accused. Police filed two more cases in connection with the violence in Motijheel area.

Law enforcers filed another case with Paltan Police Station against 250 unidentified people for torching a police van at Shantinagar.

Another case was filed with Mirpur Police Station against nine people for setting ablaze a public bus.

Police were preparing to file a few more cases, said DMP sources.

Witnesses and police sources said the first procession was brought out at 5:45 am by a group of Jamaat-e-Islami workers near the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh.

The mostly young activists came out in silence under the cover of fog before baton-wielding police noticed them and soon dispersed the crowd. According to some witness accounts, police also used tear gas and rubber bullets during the clash.

The violence then spread to other areas in central Dhaka.

Similar violence also erupted outside the capital with the opposition activists torching at least 10 vehicles across the country. A man died when some unruly people torched two vehicles in Sylhet city, where 22 other vehicles were vandalised, police said.

The government and the opposition blamed each other for the violence.

Home Minister Shahara Khatun held opposition leader Khaleda Zia responsible for arson and bomb attack in the capital and Sylhet.

“Khaleda was doing all these in a bid to foil the ongoing trial of war criminals,” she alleged.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, acting secretary general of BNP, accused the government of plotting the violence to what he said foil the party's reception for the freedom fighters where BNP chief Khaleda Zia was the chief guest.

Khaleda held a meeting with senior party leaders later in the night at her Gulshan residence to discuss the violence and the latest political situation.

Arifuzzaman Arif was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead. A resident of Uttar Goran, Arif was a trainee motor driver, his family said.

Irene Sultana, younger sister of the deceased, claimed Arif was not involved with any political party. The BNP acting secretary general, however, claimed Arif was his party worker.

Sanowar Hossain, assistant commissioner of DMP, also a member of bomb disposal unit, told The Daily Star that a primary investigation found that the deceased was carrying the bomb.

He said the bomb went off in his hand after he tumbled down while crossing the road divider.

Traffic flow in Motijheel area thinned following the incident.

Meanwhile, a group of youths torched a police van at Shantinagar at 7:30am and later vandalised a number of vehicles and shops in the same area at around 10:10am, locals said.

The opposition activists also clashed with police in Farmgate area around 11:00pm when police tried to stop them from the rampage.

Around 12:00 noon, at least seven cocktails exploded in front of BNP central office and nearby Polwel super market at Nayapaltan.

Ayub Ali, driver of a RTV television vehicle, suffered injuries there. Police, however, recovered a live cocktail from a lane opposite to BNP office.

After the Motijheel incident, police locked the main gate of BNP central office and took position before it.

In between 11:30am and 02:00pm, cocktails went off in front of Ruposhi Bangla hotel and Birdem at Shahbagh, Kataban and National Sports Council at Paltan. The demonstrators torched and vandalised some vehicles in Gabtoli.

Another two cocktails exploded in front of the Jatiya Press Club at around 2:00pm when BNP leaders went there.

Two activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) Titumir College unit were picked up when they were locked in chase and counter-chase with police, said Shah Alam, officer-in-charge of Gulshan Police Station.

During the clash, the JCD activists also hurled stones at police, leaving Shah Alam injured.

Bangladesh Chhatra League, student wing of the ruling Awami League, brought out a procession around 1:30pm from Dhaka University premises, protesting the violence. The BCL activists also blamed the violence on BNP.

BNP will stage demonstration across the country today protesting the incident. 

Source : The Daily Star

 

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