One of the 18 bus passengers injured in an arson attack at Shahbagh in capital Dhaka has died of his burns.
Nahid Morol, 18, of Shibchar in Madaripur, died around 11:30pm Thursday while undergoing treatment, Dr Samanta Lal, the burn unit coordinator at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital told reporters.
He had suffered 53 percent burns, the doctor said.
Seventeen other bus passengers with burn injuries were also being treated at the DMCH.
Three of them were still critical, doctors said.
Earlier in the evening, Opposition activists hurled a Molotov cocktail at the bus, setting the bus on fire with passengers inside, police said.
The Mirpur-bound bus was set on fire in front of the Matsya Bhaban around 6:30pm on Thursday during the 71-hour nationwide transport blockade being enforced by the 18-Party Alliance.
Earlier, the injured were identified as Rupali Bank official Masuma Aktar, 25, First Security Islami Bank official Shafiqul Islam, 37, government official Jahangir Hossain Mridha, 40, lawyer Khodeja Nasrin, 43, police constable Nurunnabi, 45, Dhaka University political science department student Ohidur Rahman Babu, 25, Ekushey TV’s ‘Mukto Khobor’ child journalist Susmita Sen, 17, her mother Gita Sen, 45.
Others injured were bus driver Md Mahbub Hossain, 27, his assistant Hafizul Islam, 22, businessman Amzad Hossain, 40, ‘Shamim’, 24, ‘Riad’, 22, ‘Robin’, Abdur Razzak and ‘Rahajul’.
Nahid’s elder brother Rasel told reporters at the DMCH that Nahid was a ninth-grader at the Kutubpur Union High School in Madaripur.
He came to Dhaka with his cousin Robin for some winter shopping, Rasel said.
The identity of another injured was yet to be ascertained. A few other passengers had received minor injuries. They left after being given first aid.
The ‘Bihanga Paribahan’ bus was on its way to Mirpur when it was set alight, said its passenger Rupali Bank official Masuma.
The passengers saw the bus was on fire when it reached the Matsya Bhaban, triggering a frantic effort to get out. The driver did not stop the bus but continued to run it until it had reached Ramna Park’s ‘Astachal’ gate.
Police rushed there and took the injured to DMCH immediately, said Shahbagh Police Station Inspector MA Jalil.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Ramna division Deputy Commissioner Maruf Sardar had said that initial investigation found that a high-powered Molotov cocktail was hurled at the bus which ignited the fire.
Eighteen people have reportedly died during the Opposition-sponsored blockade until Thursday evening.
Hundreds of vehicles were set on fire and damaged.
The Opposition had given the call for a blockade on Monday in protest against the schedule of the general election announced by the Election Commission.
It has been pressing for a non-party polls-time government to oversee the parliamentary elections.
A human hauler driver, injured in an arson in Dhaka, died in the early hours of Thursday. On the same day, a female bank official also succumbed to her injuries sustained in a bomb attack.
On Wednesday, nine people were injured in explosions at Chankharpul and another at Tikatuli in Dhaka.
Source: bdnews24
