Several properties by Tongi-Gazipur road vandalised, torched

Many government and private establishments by the roads from Tongi to Gazipur Chowrasta were vandalised and torched by unidentified agitators recently.

Protestors attacked and destroyed police boxes, educational institutes, city corporation office, garments factories and other structures on Saturday.

During an on spot visit of the area yesterday, locals informed this correspondent that about seven-eight police boxes were torched in the last few days and eight garment factories were vandalised among others.

According to locals, hundreds of miscreants vandalised Tongi Government College around 9am on Saturday. They destroyed several rooms and a teacher's motorcycle. They also torched the gate guard's room.

Md Shahin, a security guard at the college said that he had night duty the day before and was asleep when the vandalism began.

"By the time I woke up, hundreds of people were destroying the college properties with think sticks and rods. They kept it on for about half an hour then took chairs and drums from the premise and set them to fire on the road," he told TBS.

The industrial police camp, right beside the college, was also not spared from vandalism. Miscreants torched some of the rooms of the one storey building.

Around 10am-10:30am, the same group of agitators attacked Gazipur City Corporation office, according to local accounts. During this time they vandalised and torched vehicles and three rooms of the city corporation building.

During a visit yesterday, this correspondent found 18 torched cars in front of the city corporation build. Five cars inside the shade besides the building were also met with a similar fate.

Other than these, two waste dumping trucks, two cranes, three trucks, one roller, one mobile court car and one electrical department's vehicle has been torched. Two more dump trucks and one jeep was vandalised.

Three rooms of the establishment were set to fire, while three rooms of the main building was vandalised.

City Corporation Security Guard Md Billal told TBS that he was asleep in a nearby house when the attack happened since he had night duty the day before.

"Only three vehicles were somehow saved, the rest were all destroyed in the fire. All documents inside the rooms are also completely burnt, there is nothing left," he said.

The agitators then went on to vandalise the Desco office in Cheragali area and moved towards Auchpara.

They vandalised Beximco Pharma properties there and torched several vehicles. 

The security guard's offices and the CCTV observation rooms were also vandalised. Miscreants destroyed several computers and security cameras during the attack. Glass window panels of the main building were also destroyed.

However, Beximco Pharma officials refused any comments on the matter.