Buses set on fire, crude bombs exploded in Dhaka 

A series of incidents involving arson attacks on buses and crude bomb explosions have been reported in the capital.

A parked bus was set on fire in Pallabi on Sunday morning. Earlier that night, police detained a man red-handed while he was allegedly attempting to set fire to a bus in Azimpur.

Meanwhile, crude bomb explosions were reported at several locations in Dhaka on Sunday. 

Police and local said that a Paristan Paribahan bus parked beside Government College on Ceramic Road in Pallabi caught fire.

Md Mostak Sarkar, deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Mirpur division, told the media that the bus caught fire while it was parked in the rain. “We are investigating who was behind the incident,” he said.

Bus owner Khan Md Mahitul Islam said he learned about the fire from a former driver and went to the scene, where he found the bus burning.

Meanwhile, around 2:15am on Sunday, Aminul Islam Shawon, 40, allegedly attempted to set fire to a VIP bus parked beneath the Metani Overbridge in Azimpur under Lalbagh police station.

Bus staff and local residents noticed the incident and rushed to the spot. Police officers on patrol also arrived and detained Shawon.

He was injured after an angry crowd beat him at the time of his arrest. He was later sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment, said DMP’s Additional Deputy Commissioner Niaz Mehedi, and adding that legal action in the case was under process.

Elsewhere, crude bombs exploded on the road in front of the High Court and at Matsya Bhaban intersection on Sunday afternoon. Local residents said two explosions occurred one after another at around 1:30pm.
Ramna Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Saluddin Ahmed said that one explosion occurred in front of Matsya Bhaban and another in front of Kadam Fountain. 

No one was injured. Police were reviewing CCTV footage to identify those responsible, he said.

On Saturday evening and night, buses and a pickup van were set on fire in Mirpur, Badda and South Keraniganj. A person was also injured in a crude bomb explosion in Jatrabari. On Friday, crude bomb explosions and bus arson were reported at several locations in the capital.

DMP said the Detective Branch (DB) arrested four people in connection with the crude bomb explosion in front of Jatrabari police station. Based on information provided by them, four unexploded crude bombs were recovered from the Lalbagh area.