4 buses set on fire in Mirpur ahead of blockade, 3 arrested

Four buses were set on fire in the capital's Mirpur area on Tuesday (14 November) night, ahead of today's blockade announced by opposition parties.

According to Fire Service and Civil Defence sources, the first incident was reported at around 8:20pm.

They said two buses were set on fire in the Beribadh area of Mirpur-1 around 8:20pm. Two firefighting units from Kallyanpur fire station promptly reached the spot and doused the fire. 

One hour later, a BRTC bus was set on fire in the Mirpur-10 area around 9:30pm. One firefighting unit from Mirpur fire station went to the spot and doused the fire.

Three people have been arrested over the incident, DMP ADC Media K N Niyoti Roy said, claiming that they were activists of the BNP. 

One person was caught red-handed while the other two were arrested based on information he gave during interrogation.

The arrestees are Md Hafizur Rahman, 31, Shahidur Islam, 20, and Md Shamim, 45.

Meanwhile, at around 11:00pm, a bus of Shuktara Paribahan fell victim to an arson attack in the Beribadh area of Mirpur. 

According to fire service sources, two units of Kalyanpur fire station reached the spot at around 11:15 and were working to douse the fire.

According to the Fire Service and Civil Defence, on average, more than nine incidents of arson took place in the country in 16 days from 28 October to 13 November.

At least 154 arson incidents have occurred in the country in the 16 days, said the fire service.

Meanwhile, at least five were injured in the country during this time, with two of them being firemen.