18 BLASTS IN DHAKA ON LAST DAY OF 60-HR HARTAL
Dhaka, 24 Dhul Hijja 1434/29 October 2013 (MINA) – At least 18 crude bombs were exploded in different areas of the capital on the third and also the last day of the 60-hour hartal (labour strikes or collective actions )on Tuesday.
The 60-hour hartal is going to end at 6pm.
Hartal supporters set off four bombs in the capital’s Shukrabadh crossing area around 11:20am, Dhaka Tribune quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
Sources said the bombs were kept in the packets of a sweetmeats shop which is located in Farmgate.
During the morning Shibir supporters (student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami) threw four to five of improvised bombs at a procession in the Banglamotor area, police later dispersed them.
Witnesses said hartal supporters exploded another or seven bombs in the Panthapath area this morning.
Shibir activists also threw crude bombs at the officer-in-charge (OC) of Hazaribagh police station when a team of police were patrolling in the Dhanmondi area around 6:45am.
OC KaziMainul Islam has been admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
A sweeper of Dhaka South City Corporation was injured as a crude bomb kept inside the garbage blasted in Bangshal early hours of the third day’s hartal.
The pro-hartal workers set off two crude bombs when activists of Banglabandhu Sangskritik Jote brought out a rally in GPO area in the morning.
A rickshaw puller, Badsha Mia, was injured in the blast.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries, the country’s business body, expressed concern over the latest crisis that has killed at least 15 people since the weekend and urged both the government and opposition to resolve disputes through dialogue.
Opposition leader and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has called an emergency meeting of the party’s highest policy making body, the standing committee, at her Gulshan office Tuesday night.
The meeting is expected to discuss the current political situation and to decide the party’s next course of action. (T/P09/E1).
Mi’raj News Agncy (MINA).
