A Juba Dal activist was killed and 20 others were injured in clashes with BGB troops in Chandpur on the first day of the countrywide indefinite blockade enforced by the 18-party alliance to force the government cancel January 5 polls and hold the election under a neutral administration.
The deceased was identified as Faruk Hossain Patwary, 34, son of Mona Patwary of Mandari village in the upazila.
Police sources said the clash ensued after the vehicle carrying BGB personnel came under attack by scores of opposition activists enforcing the blockade at Mahamaya Bazar on Hajiganj-Chandpur road at around 6pm. Blockaders had encircled the BGB force and vandalised their vehicle, they said.
The BGB personnel in self defence fired several shots killing Faruk dead on the spot and 20 others injured, Amir Zafar, Superintendent police of Chandpur said.
Baring the incident, the first day of the sixth spell of the non-stop blockade programme passed off without any major incident of violence.
The programme was announced after the government took all out measures to foil the opposition’s much-hyped ‘March for Democracy’ towards Dhaka on Sunday and Monday.
Earlier, on December 24, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia had announced the ‘March for Democracy’ programme, urging people from all walks of life to march towards Dhaka on December 29, to press home their demand for having the next election under a neutral administration.
Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, adviser to Khaleda Zia, announced the fresh spell of blockade programme, at a press conference on Monday, saying that the blockade would continue until further announcement.
Traffic was almost normal on the city streets, though law enforcers took position at strategic points to prevent any untoward incident. Long-route buses did not leave the inter-district bus terminals. The counter was closed at the bus terminals of Gabtali and Mahakhali.
In Bhola, a group of 18-party supporters set fire to a bus, when they exploded a petrol bomb at Ghuingarhat bazaar area in the morning. Witnesses said the Charfashan-bound bus went out of order at Ghuingarhat bazaar at 10am. A procession of 18-Party Alliance was passing the area and a petrol bomb was thrown at the bus. However, no one was injured in the incident. Two units of Bhola fire service rushed to the spot and doused the flames.
Besides, no bus was seen inside the town. Several crude bombs exploded in different areas on Tuesday night.
In Jhenaidah, some miscreants set fire to the election office of AL candidate Prof. Nabi Newaz of Jhenaidaha-3 constituency around 12 noon. No one was injured in the incident. Golam Sarwar, convener of the municipality AL, claimed that supporters of the 18-Party Alliance had set fire tot the office by petrol.
However, Kotchandpur Police Station officer-in-charge Shahaja Khan said there was no subversive activity behind the fire at the AL election office. Some careless person could be responsible for the fire, he added.
In Joypurhat, 18-Party Alliance supporters brought out a procession and held a rally at the Zero point of the town in the morning.
In Gaibandha, opposition activists called a dawn-to-dusk hartal on Thursday, in protest of the ‘confinement’ of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia. The Noakhali district 18-Party Alliance also called a dawn-to-dusk hartal on Thursday for the same reason.
Courtesy of The Independent
