Petrol bomb takes trucker's life

After a brief pause for a few days, the country yesterday witnessed two grisly petrol bomb attacks in which a trucker was burnt alive and five others were injured in Chandpur Sadar upazila.

The deceased was identified as Jahangir Hossain, 40, a resident of Jhikargacha in Jessore. He was charred to death inside the vehicle after unidentified criminals hurled petrol bombs at the truck at Chandra intersection in the upazila shortly after midnight.

With the latest death, 87 people have so far been killed, mostly in arson attacks, since the BNP-led alliance called a nationwide indefinite blockade on January 5.

The truck was going to Khulna after loading goods from Chittagong, said our Chandpur Correspondent, quoting Abdul Qaiyum, officer-in-charge of Chandpur Sadar Police Station.

Three others -- Sharif, 35, the owner of the vehicle, Khorshed, 30, a cattle trader, and Rubel, 35, the helper -- received severe burn injuries during the attack, the OC said. All of them hail from Sharsha upazila of Jessore.

The injured were whisked off to Chandpur Government General Hospital. Later, they were transferred to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Doctors at the burn unit of the DMCH said Sharif suffered burns around 88 percent of his body while Khorshed received 35 percent and Rubel 25 percent.

In another incident, a truck driver and his helper were injured as they jumped off the running vehicle after it came under a firebomb attack in Raghunathpur area of the upazila.

Injured driver Amanat Khan, 40, and helper Kalu Bepari, 22, are undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital.

Apart from the arson attacks, stray incidents of violence were reported from several districts in the country on the fifth day of the BNP-led alliance's hartal yesterday.

In Chuadanga, criminals hurled petrol bombs inside the storeroom of a local Awami League leader's house at Kotali village in Sadar upazila early yesterday, reports our Kushtia correspondent.

A storeroom adjacent to the house of Selim Uddin, organising secretary of Begumpur union unit of AL, was burnt after criminals threw the bombs inside it around 1:30am, police said.

On information, police rushed there and recovered two more unexploded petrol bombs from the spot, said Monir Hossain, sub-inspector of Begumpur Police Camp.

In Rajshahi, a mob caught red-handed an alleged BNP activist and beat him up after he exploded two crude bombs inside the GPO office in the city around 12:30pm, reports our Rajshahi correspondent.

Rabiul Islam, 38, the alleged BNP activist, was admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital with bruises all over his body, said Mehedi Hasan, officer-in-charge of Rajpara Police Station.

The explosions shattered the glass windows of a room at the northern entrance of the GPO, said the OC. No one was hurt, he added.

A case was filed against Rabiul under the explosives act with Rajpara Police Station.

In Manikganj, court activities were suspended from 11:00am yesterday following a bomb threat on the court premises in the town.

Bidhan Tripura, superintendent of police in Manikganj, said he received a text message in his mobile phone around 11:00am from an unknown number. The message stated that someone had kept a time bomb on the court premises.

"I informed it to the District and Sessions Judge AKM Mostofa Dewan who ordered to stop the court work," the SP said.

Police searched the court premises but did not find any bomb, he added.

In Bhola, a lower division assistant cum computer operator of the District Council was arrested from his office premises in Sadar upazila for allegedly carrying out subversive activities.

In Chittagong, police in a drive yesterday arrested an alleged activist of Jamaat-e-Islami in Lohagara upazila and recovered a homemade gun and two bullets from his possession.

The arrestee Mohammed Babul, 30, was an accused in over 10 cases filed in connection with subversive activities, said Abu Bakkar, a sub-inspector of Lohagara Police Station.

On information, police arrested Babul from his locality around 6:00pm with the gun and two bullets, he said, adding that filing of a case was underway.