Star Online Report
At least six Sramik League activists were injured when miscreants hurled crude bombs at its rally in the capital’s Motijheel area on the second day of the opposition’s 60-hour hartal (shutdown) today.
Four of the injured — Taslima Ahmed Sima, Sramik League secretary of Dhaka city unit (South), Noor Islam, publicity secretary of ward No. 57, and activists Md Siddique Rahman and Arman Hossain –were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Earlier around 7:00am, the activists of Swechchhasebak Dal, the volunteers’ wing of the BNP, blasted at least five crude bombs during a clash with police at Karwan Bazar. But none was reported hurt.
Unknown miscreants hurled at least six handmade bombs from the high-rise buildings around 11:20am near Bak Chattar at Motijheel where Sramik League of Dhaka city unit (South) was holding a rally protesting the hartal, injured Arman told The Daily Star.
Soon after the explosions, locals caught one Akram Hossain from a nearby building suspecting him as a Jubo Dal activist.
The mob gave Akram and good beating and handed him over to police.
State Minister for Law Qamrul Islam was scheduled to address the rally that began around 10:30am.
The BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance enforced the hartal from yesterday morning to materialise their demand for non-party polls-time government to oversee the next parliamentary election.
Earlier around 7:00am, Swechchhasebak Dal men clashed with police near Wasa Bhaban at Karwan Bazar around 7:00am, said Apurba Hasan, officer-in-charge of Tejgaon Police Station.
The hartal supporters hurled five to six crude bombs at the law enforcers, prompting the latter to fire 13 shots in the air, the OC said.
Vehicular moments in the city thoroughfares were seen slightly more today than yesterday’s hartal hours.
All the shopping malls and most of the roadside shops have remained shuttered since the morning.
