Cocktail blasts, road blockade and vehicle fires across Bangladesh on eve of strike

On the eve of the banned Chhatra League’s nationwide general strike called for 10 November, cocktail blasts, road blockades and arson attacks on vehicles were reported from Gopalganj, Dhaka and other places across the country. Local sources said the incidents took place after 9 p.m. on Monday, 9 November.

Cocktail explosions were reported in several phases in Gopalganj district town, Kotalipara and Muksudpur. After 9 p.m., cocktails were exploded repeatedly in front of the main gate of the Government District School, the Government Women’s College, the Passport Office and the Government Technical School and College in Gopalganj town.

At the same time, cocktails exploded near the Muktijoddha Bhaban in Kotalipara and in front of the Muksudpur College gate. Activists of the banned Chhatra League and the banned Jubo League also blocked the Dhaka-Khulna highway by burning tyres.

The blockade at around 9:30 p.m. disrupted traffic on the highway. As part of the same programme, activists of the banned Jubo League, Chhatra League and Swechchhasebak League held a protest and a torch procession in Ward 4 of Bandhabari Union in Kotalipara upazila.

The incidents have raised concern about tension and the security situation in the area. However, no information was immediately available about casualties or damage from the cocktail blasts.

Meanwhile, a suspicious bag was recovered from the TSC area of Dhaka University after a cocktail explosion there. The bag is suspected to contain explosives.

A bomb disposal unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) reached the scene to verify the matter. The unit arrived at around 8 p.m. on Monday, 9 November. Security has been tightened at the spot, and the bomb disposal unit is examining the bag closely.

Earlier, a cocktail exploded in the TSC area. General students of Dhaka University immediately detained two young men and handed them over to Shahbagh police.

The two detained are Jabir Salehin Dipu, 27, of Sutrapur in Bagerhat district, and Abdullah Al Jobayer alias Jamil, 26, of Santhia upazila in Pabna.

Three vehicles were set on fire in Kaliakoir, Gazipur, on the same day. Miscreants set fire to two passenger buses and a covered van at separate times on Monday. Most of the covered van was burnt.

According to the Fire Service, police and local residents, locals saw fire in a covered van parked beside the Chandra-Nabinagar highway at around 10 p.m. on Monday. Fire Service personnel reached the spot and began dousing the flames. It took about half an hour to bring the fire under control, but by then most of the van had burnt down.

Local sources said the covered van had been parked beside the highway for several days to carry goods for the Walton factory. Police visited the scene after receiving the news, but no one could be arrested in connection with the incident.

Earlier the same day, a bus of Azmeri Paribahan was set on fire in the morning, and another Azmeri bus was torched in the Chandra area at around 6:30 p.m. With these, three vehicles, including two buses and a covered van, were set on fire in Kaliakoir in a single day on Monday.

Tariqul Islam, station officer of Kaliakoir Fire Service, said fire personnel reached the spot quickly and brought the fire under control. Sub-inspector Sanowar Hossain of Kaliakoir police station said police went to the spot after receiving the news. Those who set the fire have not yet been identified, and efforts are under way to identify them.