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

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said BNP has carried out the recent arson attacks on buses on the day of the by elections to make the polls questionable and malign the government.