6 killed in 2nd day hartal violence

Risingbd Desk, DHAKA, Oct 28: At least six people were killed in outside the capital in the second straight day of the 60-hour countrywide hartal, enforced by the BNP-led 18-party alliance on Monday.

The six people — a teenage boy,  a truck driver, an Awami League supporter, a BNP leader, one Jubo Dal leader and a BNP activist were killed in violence  in Chandpur, Jamalpur, Chittagong, Jhenidah, Tangail and Kishoreganj districts during the hartal hours till 6pm on Monday.
 
With the killing of six people on the second day, the death toll from the hartal violence climbed to 11 as 5 people were killed on Sunday hartal hours.

In Jamalpur, an Awami League supporter was killed in a clash with pickets at Rambhadra Bazar in Islampur upazila in the morning.

The victim was identified as Shahjada, 40, son of Jabed Ali of Rambhadra village of the upazila.

Officer-in-charge of Islampur Police Station Kazi Saidur Rahman said the clash between pickets and anti-hartal activists broke out when the ruling AL supporters tried to obstruct the hartal supporters from vandalism in the area around 8:30am.

Both the groups swooped on each other with homemade weapons, leaving Shahjada dead on the spot.

In Chittagong, a truck driver was killed as his vehicle plunged into a roadside ditch after a chase by a group of pickets in Satkania upazila in the early hours of Monday.

The deceased was identified as Mohammad Wasim, 30, a resident of Jhautala in Sadar upazila of Cox’s Bazar district.

Officer-in-charge of Satkania Police Station Abdul Latif said pickets chased a Cox’s Bazar-bound truck on Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar Highway from Chittagong in Hasmat Ali Sikder Dokan area around 12:45am.

Amid the hot chase, the truck fell into a roadside ditch as its driver lost control over the steering, leaving him dead on the spot.

A BNP leader and local Union parishad chairman was killed in hartal violence in Jhenaidah’s Harinakundu.

Police said Abul Hossain, 55, was killed in a bomb attack carried out by unidentified miscreants.

Harinakundu police station Officer-in-Charge Mahibul Hassan said a gang of up to eight miscreants carried out the attack while Abul was having tea in a stall around noon.

He added that the miscreants shot UP Chairman Abul Hossain again after the bomb attack to ensure he was dead.

An Awami League activist was killed in Islampur of Jamalpur district.

The deceased was identified as Mohammad Shahzada, 40, an activist of local unit of ruling Awami League.

Islampur Police Station Officer-in-charge Shahidur Rahman said Shahzada died in a clash between two families in Ram Bhadra village around 8am.

A Juba Dal leader was killed and 15 others injured in a clash between two rival groups of BNP in Mirzapur upazila of Tangail district around 2pm.

The deceased was identified as Abdul Alim, 38, joint secretary of upazila unit of Juba Dal.

Meanwhile, BNP activist Hossain Arif ,35, was shot dead in police firing at Kuliarchar in Kishoreganj.

The BNP-led 18-party alliance enforced the marathon hartal to force the government to accept its demand for formation of an interim cabinet to oversee the next general election due in January.


risingbd/ASB