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Seven burnt alive

9 others suffer burns in deadly petrol bomb attack on bus on Dhaka-Ctg highway

Staff Correspondent
It was around four in the morning. Most of the passengers of the Icon Paribahan bus heading for Dhaka from Cox's Bazar were asleep, having no idea about the horrors that lurked ahead.
As the bus reached Chouddagram in Comilla, alleged blockaders hurled a petrol bomb at it.
And in no time, the vehicle erupted in flames, burning seven alive and injuring at least 20.
It is the deadliest arson attack since January 5, the day the BNP-led 20-party alliance announced non-stop nationwide blockade.
Doctors fear the death toll may rise, as three of the six patients under treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital were in a critical condition.
With the latest casualties, at least 50 people, including 27 arson victims, lost their lives in the ongoing violence. Earlier, six people were burnt to death after suspected blockaders
made a similar arson attack on a bus in Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur on January 14.
Talking to The Daily Star last night, Tutul
Chakroborty, superintendent of police in Comilla, said
the bomb was thrown from the left side of the road.
"I was in sleep but suddenly woke up sensing that something was wrong. Then I saw fire all around," said Mita Mahfuza, who lost her husband Nuruzzaman Poplu and ninth-grader daughter Mysha Tasnim in the firebomb attack.
The couple along with their daughter went to Cox's Bazar on holiday.
”1 have lost everything. The trip turned out to be a curse for me," she wailed, lying on a hospital bed in Comilla.
Mita jumped through a window
of the bus and lost consciousness. She was later brought to the hospital.
The other dead are: Abu Taher, 35, and Abu Yusuf, 50, from Chakoria in Cox's Bazar; Asma Begum, wife of Manik Mia from Narsingdi, and their son Shanto; and Mohammad Wasim from Kaptanbazar in the capital.
Asma's son Munna, who suffered minor injuries, said they were supposed to get off at Kanchpur to go to Narsingdi.
"Everything was over before we could make it...," said Munna, who was in a state of shock.
Six of the arson victims were
brought to the DMCH burn unit in the morning.
Of them, Rashidul Islam suffered 80 percent burns, Mohammad Hanif seven percent, Shafiqul Islam 28 percent, Zilqad Ahmed 20 percent, Ariful Islam 10 percent and Faruk Ahmed two percent.
With damages to respiratory tract, Rashidul, Hanif and Shafiqul were in a critical condition, said doctors.
Faruk, receiving treatment at the DMCH, said he was asleep but woke up sensing trouble.
As he saw fire all around, he jumped through a window of the bus.
"As I got out, I saw my friend
Zilqad roll on the ground trying to put out the fire on his body," he said.
Faruk suffered burns on hands while trying to save Zilqad.
"I don't know for how long the horrors of the gruesome attack will haunt me," he said.
Zilqad and Faruk along with two friends went to Cox's Bazar on vacation a week ago. But they couldn't return home because of shutdowns and blockade. They finally got bus tickets for Monday’s trip.
Harun-ur-Rashid, manager of the Icon Paribahan bus counter at Chakoria, said 36 people, including the driver and his helper, were in the bus.
It left Cox's Bazar with 17 passengers around 9:30pm on Monday. Sixteen more boarded the vehicle at Chakoria and another in Chittagong city, he said.
The bus was supposed to make a stopover at a highway restaurant in Comilla.
Talking to BBC Bangla Service last night, Mallick Fakrul Islam, deputy inspector general (highway) of police, said the bus was not escorted by law enforcers.
Sergeant Nazim Uddin of Comilla highway police said the casualty in the arson attack was high, as most of the passengers were asleep.
A case was filed with
Chouddagram Police Station last night against 56 local BNP and Jamaat activists in connection with the arson attack.
Tutul, SP of Comilla, said police arrested eight people, including Delwar Hossain, secretary of Jamaat's south Comilla unit, for their alleged involvement in the incident.
Meanwhile, a three-member government committee was formed to probe the incident. It was asked to submit its report in seven working days, said Hasanuzzaman Kallol, deputy commissioner of Comilla. [Reporters from Comilla and Cox's Bazar contributed to this story]