Fearing possible violence from a face-off between the ruling and opposition parties, panic-stricken city residents yesterday mostly stayed indoors, leaving the streets almost empty.
In the end, the day passed rather peacefully, except for some incidents of crude bomb blasts.
Unidentified miscreants hurled two cocktails at the Zigatola residence of minister without portfolio Suranjit Sengupta around 6:00am. In the evening, at least 13 crude bombs blasted at different parts of the capital and two vehicles were torched and another one was vandalised, said police and witnesses.
Meantime, around 20 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members have been deployed in the capital for 12 hours from 7:00pm.
“We’ve deployed our force in aid of civil administration following their request,” Col Hafiz Ahsan Farid, deputy director general (operations) of BGB, told The Daily Star last night.
Besides, members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and police were seen guarding and patrolling the city streets.
Tension was heightened in the city as the opposition 18-party alliance announced to stage a rally and the ruling party leaders declared to remain vigilant on the streets to foil any attempt by the opposition activists to create anarchy.
Amid intermittent showers throughout the day, only people in urgent need came out on the streets. Very few vehicles plied the city thoroughfares.
The BNP-led 18-party alliance activists gathered at Suhrawardy Uddyan, the opposition rally venue, while the AL and 14-party men gathered at different points including the AL’s central office on Bangabandhu Avenue and party president’s Dhanmondi office.
Several hundred Bangladesh Chhatra League activists, including some with firearms, paraded on Dhaka University campus since morning. They beat up six persons suspecting them to be the activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir.
“I wouldn’t have come out amid such a panicky situation if I could avoid it,” said a man aged about 40 near the Matsya Bhaban.
Rickshawpuller Abdul Jalil said, “I don’t know whether I would be able to earn the amount I need to deposit with the owner of my rickshaw.”
“I usually earn Tk 250 by this time, but today I’ve earned only Tk 40 so far,” he mentioned around 7:00pm at Shyamoli. He had to give the rickshaw owner Tk 70 for 12 hours.
BOMB BLASTS
Five bombs were hurled near the Shishu Park, Kataban mosque and Matsya Bhaban areas when activists of opposition parties were returning from the rally venue in small processions around 6:00pm, witnesses said.
In the morning, two bombs were hurled at the Zigatola residence of Suranjit Sengupta, one of which went off on the building wall.
Within couple of hours, three crude bombs exploded in front of the Dhanmondi (Road-1) residence of Abdul Mannan, president of Dhaka district BNP unit.
None was hurt in the blasts, said Hazaribagh and Dhanmondi police.
In another incident yesterday afternoon, two bike-riding criminals blasted four cocktails in the capital’s Shewrapara, said Kafrul police.
Miscreants blasted three handmade bombs near the Sir AF Rahman Hall around 9:00pm, said DU acting proctor Amzad Ali.
A passenger bus was set ablaze at Karwanbazar and a private car was torched at Shegun Bagicha areas around 6:00pm, allegedly by opposition activists when they were returning from the rally.
They also vandalised a bus in Mirpur while going to the rally venue around 3:00pm.
Source: The Daily Star
