A person was killed and 50 were injured during the first day of the 36-hour countrywide hartal called by the BNP-led 18-party alliance on Wednesday. The Opposition alliance was demanding immediate release of the party’s detained leaders. The dead was identified as Hafizur Rahman (42), a resident of Panchbaria village. According to witnesses, a group of hartal supporters ran after the Jessore-bound bus of Shohagh Paribahan from Dhaka while it was heading towards the Manihar Old Bus Terminal at about 8:30 am. They started throwing brickbats at the bus. After being hit by a stone, the driver lost control of the vehicle and the bus rammed into a roadside tea-stall, killing Hafizur on the spot and injuring 10 others.
The 36-hour hartal began at 6 am on Wednesday and will continue till 6 pm on Thursday.
The hartal in the capital was marred by stray incidents of violence.
Supporters of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) brought out a procession in the city’s Laxmibazar area at about 8 am. Four bombs exploded. The police dispersed them soon after.
Another group of JCD activists brought out a procession at Dholaipar at about 7 am, but they were dispersed by the police. At about 8 am, JCD supporters brought out a procession in the Mitford Hospital area. A group of JCD members exploded two bombs from a procession in Pallabi of Mirpur at about 6.30 am.
Activists of the Islami Chhatra Shibir, student front of the Jamaat-e-Islami, brought out a procession at Mirpur-12 at about 6.30 am. They too were dispersed by the police.
Another group of JCD activists exploded two bombs in front of the Mirpur Ideal School and College at about 6.50 am.
A group of hartal supporters exploded two bombs in front of Kancha Bazar at Mirpur section 6 at about 8 am. Three bombs exploded beside the office of the narcotics control department in Tejgaon at the same time.
Pro-hartal activists brought out a procession on Shaheed Faruk Road in Jatrabari and exploded two crackers. Later, the police fired several rounds of rubber bullets to disperse them.
Hartal supporters exploded a bomb just opposite the Notre Dame College in Motijheel at about 10 am.
A group of JCD activists torched tyres in Basabo at about 6.30 am. They fled the scene after being chased by the police.
Five women MPs and barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon, MP, brought out a procession at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad and staged demonstrations there at about 9.45 am.
Pro-hartal activists set fire to a CNG auto-rickshaw in the Hatirjheel area at about 8 am. Local residents doused the flames.
Another group of hartal supporters blasted four to five bombs at the ICD intersection in the South Kamalapur area in the morning. The police fired warning shots in the air.
At about 6 am, hartal supporters vandalised four buses in front of the Matuail Hospital on the outskirts of the city.
Leaders and activists of the AL and the Juba League brought out anti-hartal processions in different parts of the city, including Bangabandhu Avenue and Mirpur -10. They also organised a human chain to protest against the hartal.
Rickshaws and auto-rickshaws plied on city streets, while most buses stayed off the road. This only added to the plight of commuters. No bus left the city’s bus terminals. However, train and launch services were normal. Educational institutions were closed, while attendance in government and non-government offices was thin.
Security was beefed up in and around the Secretariat area to avoid any untoward incident. Additional law enforcers were deployed at different strategic points, like Malibag, Shantinagar, Rampura, Paltan, Motijheel, Karwanbazar, Farmgate, Tejgaon, Mahakhali, Badda and Mirpur.
Sporadic incidents like clashes, arson attacks and vandalism marked the hartal across the country.
In Barisal, an incident of chase and counter-chase between the police and hartal supporters broke out in the Kalijira area at around 7am. The incident left four people, including ASI Anwar of Sadar police station, injured. He was admitted to the Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in a critical condition.
Hartal supporters vandalised a truck and several battery-run vehicles in different areas of the city. The police picked up seven Jammat-Shibir activists from different parts of the district.
In Rajshahi, at least 10 people, including a policeman, were wounded in separate clashes. At least 14 people were arrested in this connection.
According to sources, Jamaat-Shibir activists brought out a procession in the city’s Rajarhata and Loknath School areas at around 7 am. The police rushed to the spot and tried to disperse them. The irate activists hurled brickbats and bombs at the police. The police fired rubber bullets, teargas shells and sound grenades. Eight people, including a policeman, were injured.
In Sirajganj, hartal supporters set two vehicles on fire. They blocked the road near the Shreekhola intersection on the Bogra-Nagorebari highway in Ullapara upazila of the district. The police arrested Nur-e-Alam, an activist of the Jamaat-e-Islami, from the Enayetpur area.
In Chittagong, picketers set a truck ablaze on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Terial in Sitakunda upazila at about 6:30 am.
In the Sheikhpara area near the upazila headquarters, hartal supporters torched a container lorry and a truck.
At Mirerhat Bottola, chase and counter-chase broke out between the police and hartal supporters. It left seven people injured. At the AK Khan Gate in Pahartali, picketers exploded several bombs and fled.
A group of Shibir activists blocked the Dhaka-Natore highway in the Harishpur area near Sher-e-Bangla High School. Later, they were dispersed by the police.
In Gazipur, pro-hartal activists torched a truck in the morning. The activists also vandalised some vehicles at the Bhogra bypass on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway.
In Gaibandha, pro-hartal activists vandalised four buses and five shops in the Palashbari area. They also blocked the Gaibandha-Polashbari.
Later, the police dispersed them and opened the road. The Palashbari, the police arrested Jubo Dal leader Abdur Rashid Rana during the hartal hours.
In Feni, Jamaat-Shibir activists brought out a procession from the town’s Shishu Niketon area at 6 am. They blocked the road in front of the land registration office. They, however, fled before the police reached there.
In Laxmipur, pro-hartal activists blocked the Laxmipur-Dhaka highway in the morning. They also brought out a procession in the town and exploded about 20 bombs.
In Noakhali, some picketers vandalised several rickshaws and burnt tyres in Dattarhat, Bishwanath and Maijdee Bazar areas early in the morning. The police picked up about 37 picketers from the spot.
The district BNP and its front organisations brought out a procession at 11 am, demanding immediate release of Noakhali district BNP president Mohammad Shajahan.
In Sylhet, pro-hartal activists vandalised a human hauler at Chauhatta in the city at about 6 am. Some Shibir activists brought out a procession from the Darshan Deuri area of the city at around the same time. They blocked the Sylhet-Sunamganj highway with burning tyres. Later, they fled after exploding several bombs.
In Narayanganj, five people were injured in a series of clashes between the police and BNP-Jamaat activists. Hartal supporters brought out a procession on Shaista Khan Road in the Puratan Court area of the city at about 6 am. When the procession reached the Golachipa intersection, law enforcers charged batons on the participants. This triggered a clash, leaving five people injured. The picketers exploded five bombs.
In another incident, picketers vandalised a truck and exploded several bombs near the Ukilpara intersection.
The police rushed to the spot and fired in the air to disperse the activists.
In Khulna, pro-hartal activists brought out a procession from the Hajibari area of the district town. They vandalised eight battery-run easy bikes and a pickup van and exploded four bombs. Another group of hartal supporters blocked the Khulna-Bagerhat highway.
Source: The Independent
