3 parked buses set on fire on roadsides in Gazipur within 7 hours

Within a span of seven hours, unidentified miscreants set fire to three parked buses in Gazipur city and Sreepur upazila between Tuesday night and early Wednesday. No casualties were reported in any of the incidents.

The first incident occurred in Chakrabarti area along the Kaliakoir–Nabinagar road in Gazipur city around 10:30 pm on Tuesday.

Locals and police said a bus was parked by the roadside near Jyoti Filling Station in Chakrabarti area, where a mechanic was working underneath the vehicle. Two youths arrived on a motorcycle, poured petrol on the bus, and set it ablaze before speeding away the scene.

Local people rushed to extinguish the fire, preventing further damage. Some seats and parts of the bus was burnt, but no injuries occurred as there was no passenger inside the vehicle. Police from Kashimpur station later inspected the scene.

Kashimpur police station officer-in-charge (OC) Mohammad Moniruzzaman said, “A few miscreants on a motorcycle set fire to the bus and escaped. Locals managed to douse the flames. Although the bus was damaged, there were no casualties.”

The second incident took place in the Peyarabagan area of Bhogra in Gazipur city around 4:30 am on Wednesday.

Police and local people said a VIP Paribahan passenger bus had been parked by the Dhaka–Tangail highway at Peyarabagan. A group of miscreants poured petrol on the vehicle and set it on fire before fleeing.

People from the area tried to douse the flames. According to the local people, though firefighters reached the scene, they waited for police to arrive before starting their operation. The bus was completely gutted, but no one was inside at the time.

Gazipur fire service deputy director Md Mamun confirmed the incident, saying, “The passenger bus was parked by the highway when unidentified persons set it ablaze. Our team reached the scene and brought the fire under control. No casualties occurred, though the bus was destroyed.”

Basan police station sub-inspector (SI) Md Parvez said senior police officers visited the scene. “Miscreants poured petrol and set the bus on fire. Police operations are underway to track down those responsible,” he added.

The third arson incident occurred in Sreepur upazila around 4:45 am, when miscreants set fire to a bus parked near a filling station at the No. 1 C&B area along the Dhaka–Mymensingh highway.

Firefighters and police managed to control the blaze before it could spread. No casualties were reported, though all the seats inside the bus were burnt.

Locals and police said the bus of Probhati Banasree Paribahan, operating between Dhaka and Jaina Bazar in Sreepur, was parked near the petrol pump with the driver’s assistant asleep inside. He woke up to find flames near the engine and shouted for help. Nearby residents rushed to assist, and firefighters later brought the fire under control.

Sreepur fire service station officer Mahmudul Hasan said two fire units extinguished the fire within 20 minutes. “There were no injuries,” he confirmed.

Sreepur police station OC Mohammad Abdul Barik told Prothom Alo, “We reached the spot immediately after receiving the report. The arsonists fled before police arrived. Legal action will be taken in connection with the incident.”