Nationwide violence by banned organization

A wave of violence swept across at least 28 districts, with crude bomb explosions, arson attacks on buses and trains, road blockades, vandalism and clashes with police reported during a nationwide strike called by the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL).

The violence, which began late Monday night and continued until Tuesday evening, left a bus driver dead, several people injured and dozens of vehicles and public facilities damaged. Police have arrested more than 150 people in connection with the incidents, according to police sources.

The Police Headquarters and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said 22 vehicles were set on fire in 11 districts during the 24 hours from Monday evening to Tuesday morning. Crude bombs exploded at 28 locations in six districts during the same period.

Police attributed the wave of violence to activists and supporters of the Awami League, following former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's reported announcement that she would return to Bangladesh in December. These are police allegations, and investigations into individual incidents are ongoing.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ali Hossain Fakir has ordered increased security deployment and intelligence surveillance to prevent further violence.

The DMP separately said 33 people had been arrested from different parts of the capital over the previous 24 hours in connection with bomb explosions and bus arson.

Bomb explosions and recoveries in Dhaka

Crude bomb explosions were reported in Dhanmondi, Dhaka University and Malibagh, while police recovered 10 unexploded devices from Dhanmondi and North Shahjahanpur.

At around 11:45am on Tuesday, two unexploded crude bombs were found in front of the demolished residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi 32. The DMP's bomb disposal team later neutralised the devices. A note bearing the words "Joy Bangla, Projonmo-71" was also recovered.

Two more crude bombs were found near City College in Dhanmondi around noon.

Dhanmondi Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Imdadul Islam Tayeb said two individuals had left the devices at Dhanmondi 32 and fled. He said police intervention had apparently prevented them from being detonated. The note was also being investigated.

At around 2:15pm, a crude bomb was thrown at a private car in front of the Faculty of Business Studies at Dhaka University, injuring its driver, identified as Mohammad Sohel. The explosion shattered the vehicle's windows, leaving him wounded by flying glass and splinters. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Another crude bomb exploded near the university's Arts Building around the same time, but no one was injured. Witnesses said a man on a motorcycle threw the device before fleeing. University authorities are reviewing CCTV footage.

Earlier, a teenage boy named Ador Ali was injured in a crude bomb explosion in Malibagh Chowdhuripara around 2am on Monday night. He sustained splinter injuries to his back, left arm and left big toe and is receiving treatment at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Meanwhile, six crude bombs were recovered from an abandoned sack near a BNP office in the Jhilpar area of North Shahjahanpur on Tuesday afternoon by the Special Response Battalion (SRB-3).

Further explosions were reported at Shekhertek in Adabor around 10pm, near Mohakhali bus terminal around 11pm and in front of SR Enterprise filling station in Tejgaon Industrial Area at around the same time.

Bus torched in Dhaka, 33 arrested

At around 12:45am on Tuesday, two men arriving on a motorcycle allegedly set fire to an Alif Paribahan bus parked opposite the Staff College in Mirpur-13. Nearby shopkeepers quickly brought the fire under control.

Police arrested a man identified as Mohammad Hossain in connection with the incident.

Two others, identified as Nafiul, alias Shomoy, and Shuvo Chowdhury, were detained from Darus Salam over alleged involvement in crude bomb explosions. Police said Nafiul was an organising secretary of the banned Chhatra League's Ward No. 12 unit.

DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) Akhtar Hossain said 33 people had been arrested from different parts of the capital over the past 24 hours.

Most of them were leaders and activists of the banned organisation, he said, adding that preliminary findings suggested some individuals had been paid to participate in the attacks.

Police vehicle torched, 10 injured in Gopalganj

Clashes broke out between police and activists of the banned Chhatra League in Tungipara, Gopalganj, leaving at least 10 people, including police personnel, injured. A police pickup van was set on fire, while several shops were vandalised.

The incidents occurred at different locations in Tungipara, Kashiani and Gopalganj Sadar from Tuesday morning.

At around 9:30am, Chhatra League activists blocked a road by setting fires at Gawhardanga Chowrangi intersection in Tungipara. Awami League and Jubo League activists later joined them.

While marching towards Patgati Bazar, protesters allegedly vandalised several banners and festoons outside a Jubo Dal office. Clashes erupted when police attempted to stop them.

Witnesses said a police pickup van was set ablaze on a road beside Gimadanga Tungipara High School. Several shops were also vandalised, disrupting traffic on the Gopalganj-Pirojpur highway for nearly two hours.

The injured received treatment at Tungipara Upazila Health Complex and locally.

Tungipara Police Station OC Ayub Ali said clashes erupted after police intervened to stop the strike-related activities. Several police personnel were injured in attacks by Chhatra League activists, he added.

Road blockades were also reported at several locations in Gopalganj town, including the western side of Launchghat Bridge, BISCIC Bridge, Sonakur, LGED intersection and Bedgram. The blockades were withdrawn around 2:30pm.

Protests and road blockades also took place near the Kalna Madhumati Bridge toll plaza and on the Dhaka-Khulna highway in Kashiani.

On Monday night, protesters blocked the Dhaka-Khulna highway in Gopalpur and set fires at Maheshpur Railway Station. Crude bomb explosions were also reported at the walls and gates of several government establishments in Gopalganj town.

The district administration deployed six platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel in Tungipara.

Gopalganj Superintendent of Police Mohammad Habibullah said eight people had been arrested over Monday night's violence. Police also seized seven motorcycles and 15 unexploded crude bombs.

Bus driver dies while trying to extinguish fire in Faridpur

A bus driver died after inhaling smoke while attempting to extinguish a fire set to a parked bus at the Goalachamat New Bus Terminal in Faridpur town late Monday night.

The deceased, identified as Mohammad Kalachand, 50, was a resident of Dignagar village in Muksudpur upazila of Gopalganj.

He drove a Kishore-Tanoy Paribahan bus operating on the Faridpur-Tekarhat-Madaripur route.

BNP office set ablaze in Rajshahi

A BNP office in Azizpur village under Kalma Union of Tanore upazila in Rajshahi was set on fire early Tuesday.

Fire service personnel extinguished the blaze, but furniture inside the office was damaged.

Road blockades, surprise processions and crude bomb explosions were also reported in different parts of Rajshahi from late Monday night until Tuesday morning.

Tanore Police Station OC Mahmudul Hasan said legal action was being taken over the incident.

Around 50 institutions locked in Barguna

The main gates of around 50 government offices and educational institutions across Barguna district were reportedly locked on Monday night.

The affected establishments included Barguna Government Zilla School, Government Girls' High School, Betagi Upazila Parishad, Betagi Municipality and Betagi Government College.

Similar incidents were reported in Bamna, Patharghata, Amtali and Taltali upazilas. Activists of the banned Chhatra League were accused of involvement.

Barguna Superintendent of Police Mohammad Kudrat-e-Khuda said nine people had been detained over the incidents and alleged acts of sabotage.

Meanwhile, a branch of Grameen Bank in the Karuibunia area of Kallyanpur on the Amtali-Kalapara regional highway was set on fire late Monday night. Bank employees quickly extinguished the blaze, preventing major damage.

Fires reported at trains and buses in several dists

Arson attacks and suspicious fires were reported at several locations across the country.

At Mohanganj Railway Station in Netrokona, a carriage of the Haor Express train was set on fire while it was stationary. On the same night, the house of former lawmaker Sazzadul Hasan and residences of several Awami League leaders were reportedly attacked, vandalised and set ablaze.

A fire also broke out in a stationary train carriage at Khulna Railway Station. Railway authorities initially suspected that a mosquito coil might have caused the fire.

In Naogaon town, two buses parked side by side belonging to Al Baraka Paribahan caught fire near Gabtoli intersection on the bypass road around 12:30am. Firefighters brought the blaze under control, but both buses were extensively damaged. Police arrested three people, including two Chhatra League leaders, over the incident. However, an initial police assessment also raised the possibility that a mosquito coil had started the fire.

In separate incidents in Kaliakair, Gazipur, two passenger buses and a covered van were set on fire.

In Genda, Savar, a Savar Paribahan bus was torched. Police also reported finding at least three crude bombs inside a bag near the gate of Adhar Chandra Government High School.

Two buses were set on fire at separate locations in Chattogram, while a BRTC bus used to transport students of Kishoreganj Government Women's College was also torched in Kishoreganj's Bhairab.

In Jhenaidah's Garaganj area, a petrol bomb was allegedly hurled at a Diganta Paribahan bus carrying students of Islamic University on Monday night. Another crude bomb was thrown at the side gate of Shah Azizur Rahman Hall on the university campus early Tuesday. No casualties were reported in either incident.

Seven locations across Cox's Bazar district, including the town, witnessed crude bomb and petrol bomb explosions on Monday night. No casualties were reported, while six people were detained over alleged involvement.

In Dhamrai, four buses have been set on fire within five days. The latest incident occurred around 1am on Tuesday when a parked bus caught fire in front of the upazila assistant commissioner's office at Jatrabari on the Dhamrai-Kaliakair regional highway. Two fire service units took around 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze.

Mass arrests across districts

Police conducted raids in several districts and arrested scores of people over alleged involvement in sabotage.

In Cumilla, police detained 107 leaders and activists of the now-banned Awami League and its affiliated organisations during an overnight drive on Monday.

In Sirajganj, three alleged Chhatra League activists were arrested over an attempt to sabotage railway tracks by setting fire to them.

In Manikganj, 11 people were arrested in connection with a minibus arson attack and crude bomb explosions.

Further arrests and detentions were reported in Patharghata in Barguna, Dumuria in Khulna, Kuakata, Pirganj and several other areas.

Government offices and educational institutions were also locked, roads blocked and flash processions held in Feni, Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Anwara in Chattogram. Police said investigations were underway to identify and arrest those involved.

IGP orders tighter security and surveillance

Against the backdrop of widespread violence, IGP Ali Hossain Fakir has directed police units across the country to strengthen security deployment, patrols, searches and intelligence surveillance.

He issued the instructions during a meeting with police superintendents from all 64 districts and senior police officials at Police Headquarters on Tuesday. Metropolitan police commissioners, deputy inspectors general of police and district police chiefs joined the meeting virtually.

Assistant Inspector General of Police (Media and Public Relations) Kamarum Munira said the IGP stressed the need to maintain law and order under all circumstances.

He instructed officers to bring those responsible for criminal activities to justice professionally while ensuring that innocent people were not harassed.

Additional police deployment was also ordered in Gopalganj, Shariatpur, Madaripur and Faridpur.