At least 20 people were injured as activists of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami clashed with police in Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong today.
The opposition workers vandalised several dozen vehicles and set fire to more than five others on Dhaka-Chittagong highway, halting traffic movement on the road for more than three hours from 4:30pm.
Two train trains — Subarna Express from Dhaka and Meghna Express from Chittagong — remained stranded for hours as the Jamaat-Shibir took position on rail trucks at Barabkunda from 5:00pm to 8:20pm, railway officials said.
Besides, Sylhet-bound Jalabad Express and a Comilla-bound demo train which were scheduled to leave the port city this evening had to delay to their departure time.
Of the injured, Karimul Mawla, 35, and Abul Bashar, 70, were wounded as police fired rubber bullets to disperse the agitators while Md Rafiq, 30, was hit on his head by stones thrown by the activists.
The three were admitted to Sitakunda Upazila Health Complex, our Chittagong correspondent reports quoting Dr Shahida Akther.
The clash started when hundreds of BNP-Jamaat activists organised a protest rally at Sitakunda Sadar upazila in the afternoon and blocked the Dhaka-Chittagong highway around 4:30pm.
As police went to clear the road, the activists started hurling brickbats at the law enforcers and blasted several crude bombs, said police and eyewitness.
In response, police fired rubber bullets and teargas shells.
BNP and Jamaat activists then started vandalising vehicles indiscriminately and torched several others in Bypass, Barabkunda and Sadar areas, halting traffic movement on the road for nearly three hours.
Zakir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Highway Police’s Bara Awlia Station at Sitakunda, said nearly 52 kilometres on the highway remained blocked as the opposition activists were conducting sudden attacks in different areas of the road.
Source: The Daily Star
