Miscreants set a stationary bus on fire in Mohadevpur upazila of Naogaon district on Sunday (November 26, 2023) night during the ongoing 48-hour blockade called by the BNP and some like-minded parties. Locals said miscreants set the bus of ‘Rahi Travels’ on fire around 11:30 pm. Being informed, a firefighting unit from Mohadevpur station rushed to the spot and doused the flame, said the fire station’s team leader Ashraful Rahman, adding that 50 percent of the bus got burnt. Read more: Dialogue possible with political parties, not arsonists: Hasan Mahmud Mozaffar Hossain, officer-in-charge of Mohadevpur Police Station, said they arrested two BNP workers in this connection. The arrestees are Sujauzzaman Raju, 55, president of Ward No.1 under Mohadevpur union the upazila and local activist Ataur Rahaman Ata, he said. Legal actions will be taken in this regard, the OC added. Read more: No way to compromise with arsonists: PM Hasina

Eleven arson attacks were recorded in the past 15 hours, from 6 pm yesterday till 9 am this morning (November 19, 2023). A total of 11 vehicles were set on fire by miscreants during this time. Of these, five were set on fire inside Dhaka city, according to the media cell of Fire Service and Civil Defence. Also read: Case filed over burning train compartments in Jamalpur Meanwhile, three reports of arson violence were recorded in Rajshahi division, two in Chattogram, and one in Mymensingh, said Talha Bin Zashim, station officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence (media cell).  The affected vehicles included six buses, one covered van, one CNG-run autorickshaw, one pickup van, and three carriages of a train. A total of 107 members of 20 firefighting units worked to douse the fires across the country during this period. A 48-hour hartal — called by BNP, Jamaat and like-minded opposition parties — protesting the general election schedule announced by the Election Commission (EC) is underway from this morning amid fear of violence. Also read: CNG-run autorickshaw catches fire as cocktail thrown in Old Dhaka

On average, more than nine arson attacks have been reported across Bangladesh every day between October 28 and November 13, Fire Service and Civil Defense said today (November 14, 2023). "A total of 154 arson attacks were reported across the country during this period, leaving 5 people injured,” said Talha Bin Jashim, station officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defence's media cell. Of these, 82 arson attacks were in Dhaka city, he added. Read: Fire Service records 9 arson attacks in the country in 10 hrs According to the fire service, out of 154 arson attacks across the country, 116 incidents occurred in Dhaka division, 14 in Chattogram, 9 in Rajshahi, 6 in Barishal, 6 in Rangpur, 2 in Khulna and 1 in Mymensingh division. No arson attacks were reported in the Sylhet division during this period. A total of 94 buses, 3 microbuses, 2 private cars, 8 motorcycles, 13 trucks, 8 covered vans, 1 ambulance, 2 pickup trucks, 2 CNG-run autorickshaws, 1 human hauler, 1 Laguna, 1 fire service water truck, 1 police van, 5 BNP offices, 1 Awami League office, 1 police box, 1 councilor office, 2 electricity offices, 1 bus counter, and 2 showrooms were burnt during this time, according to fire service. Read: Two passenger buses set on fire in Dhaka on eve of fresh 48-hr blockade According to the statistics, the highest, 29, arson attacks happened on October 28. Analyzing the incidents, the fire service found that there were more arson attacks during the night (6 pm to 6 am) compared to daytime. Between October 28 and November 13, 61 fire incidents occurred during the day and 93 during the night.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) say they caught a central leader of BNP’s student wing, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), "red-handed" when he was about to set a bus on fire on Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway in Abdullahpur area this morning (November 13, 2023). The detainee, Mamun Majumdar, is an assistant organising secretary of JCD's central executive body. Md Parvez Rana, senior assistant superintendent of police (ASP) at RAB-1, told journalists that RAB personnel in plainclothes took position in Abdullahpur this morning after being tipped off that some miscreants would obstruct vehicles and set them on fire. Read: Crude bombs hurled at police vehicle in Dhaka's Uttara, JCD activist arrested Members of the elite force caught the JCD leader when he was trying to set a bus of Projapati Paribahan on fire, the RAB official said. “The JCD leader admitted that they have activists positioned in several Dhaka areas to carry out subversive activities with the aim of destabilising the country,” said ASP Rana. JCD men, who aspire to land higher posts in the next committee, are determined to carry out destructive acts, the RAB official said, quoting the detained JCD leader. Read more: JCD leader dies, 3 hurt in Chandpur road crash

A total of nine arson attacks were reported across the country from 8 pm last night to 6 am today (November 12, 2023), according to the Fire Service and Civil Defence. Of these, 7 arson attacks were reported in Dhaka’s Jatrabari, Gulistan, Gabtoli, near Notre Dame College, Rupnagar, Sutrapur and Mirpur areas, said Talha Bin Zashim, station officer of Fire Service and Civil Defense Media Cell, this morning. All the arson attacks in Dhaka were on buses ahead of the countrywide 48-hour blockade of roads, rail lines and waterways. Read: Arsonists set fire to another bus in Dhaka's Mirpur Moreover, the miscreants also set a pickup van and a bus on fire in Gazipur and Barishal respectively in the same period. Supporters of BNP and its associate bodies brought out a procession in favour of the blockade this morning in Barishal city and they also burnt tyres on the streets. Read: Fire Service records 15 arson incidents across country in 37 hrs till Thursday evening At a virtual press briefing, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Saturday called upon the country’s people and BNP supporters to observe the blockade and make it successful. Read more: 13 arson incidents reported in 27 hours till this morning: Fire Service

A total of 21 arson incidents were reported across Bangladesh from 4:00 am on Sunday (November 05, 2023) to 6:00 pm on Monday, (November 06, 2023), according to the Fire Service and Civil Defence. Of these, 12 arson attacks were reported in Dhaka City Corporation areas, said Talha Bin Jasim, station officer of Fire Service and Civil Defense media cell on Monday. Read: Fire Service records 12 arson incidents across country in 11 hrs till Sunday morning The fire official said a total of 16 incidents of arson were reported in Dhaka division, and four in Chattogram division. A total of 16 buses, two trucks, one private car, one CNG-run autorickshaw, and one human hauler were torched during this period. Read: 3-day blockade: 16 arson attacks till this morning, says Fire Service  Forty-one units from the Fire Service and Civil Defence, along with 242 firefighters, were engaged to extinguish the blazes, added the fire officer.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has detained two persons, including the prime suspect, allegedly responsible for burning down the homes and shops of the Hindus in Rangpur. Saikat Mandal, 24, son of Rashedul Haque and his accomplice Rabiul Islam, 36, son of Moslem Uddin of Pirganj upazila, have been nabbed by RAB-13 personnel from Gazipur district's Tongi area, following a raid based on a tip-off, sources told UNB on Saturday. During preliminary interrogation, the two admitted their guilt, Director (Legal and Media Wing) at the Rab headquarters Commander Khandaker Al Moin told reporters. READ: Rangpur: 1 arrested in Joypurhat under DSA, 42 for arson The detainees told interrogators that they had used loudspeakers to instigate people to carry out the arson attacks in a bid to create anarchy and disrupt communal harmony in the country, after posting misleading comments on social media, the RAB Commander said. “Saikat provoked people by uploading false information on Facebook. He led a number of arson attacks directly. Rabiul used loudspeakers to instigate people, on Saikat's instructions," said Moin. After the attacks, Saikat, a student of a Rangpur college, went into hiding. "Efforts are on to take legal steps against the detainees,” said RAB officers. READ: Rangpur offenders must face action: Home Minister On October 17, the attackers set fire to 20-25 houses and shops of the Hindus at Boro Karimpur Majhipara village in Rangpur's Pirganj upazila over a social media post, deputy commissioner Asif Hasan had said. The attackers had also looted cash, cattle and other valuables from the houses of the Hindus. Police have so far detained 42 men in connection with the arson attacks. Three cases have been filed in this connection with Pirganj Police.

Those involved in the Rangpur incident will be brought to book, said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Monday. “So far, police have detained 44 people with the help of the local people and we’re trying to know whether it’s a motivated and planned one. Those involved in it will be brought to justice,” he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat. Read:42 detained over Rangpur arson attacks

Police have detained 42 people in connection with arson attacks on the homes of Hindu community members at Boro Karimpur Majhipara village in Pirganj upazila of Rangpur district over a post on social media on Sunday night. The attackers set fire to 20-25 houses and shops of Hindus at the village around 8pm on Sunday, said deputy commissioner of Rangpur Asif Hasan on Monday. Read:OC among 30 injured in Feni clashes The attackers also looted cash, cattle and other valuables from the houses. Rangpur assistant superintendent of police Md Kamruzzaman said tension gripped the area on Sunday evening following a reported comment by a local Hindu teenager on Facebook. Police reached the village to guard the house of the boy as tension mounted over the issue. Around 8.30 pm the miscreants set fire to some Hindu houses adjacent to the teenager's house, he said. Later, police lobbed teargas shells and rubber bullets to bring the situation under control. Read: 3 cases filed in Dhaka over Friday's post-Jum’a clashes Pirganj Fire Service Station officer Ratan Chandra Sharma said four units of firefighters from Pirganj, Mithapukur and Rangpur city rushed to the spot around 9pm to bring the fire under control. Police have been deployed in the village to fend off further trouble. DC Asif Hasan said a process is underway to file a case in this regard.

Detectives in a drive on Saturday arrested three people from Paltan area in  the city in connection with the recent arson attacks on buses in different parts of the capital.