7 vehicles torched, 24 vandalised on Saturday: Transport owners association

A total of seven vehicles were set on fire and 24 others vandalised during the clash between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) men and police on Saturday, said transport owners association.

In a press release issued on Sunday, the road transport owners association strongly condemned the BNP and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami for the incident and alleged that the anti-regime parties took their violence to the level of 2014-2015, when numerous vehicles were vandalised, and transport workers killed under the guise of a movement.

The media release, signed by the association's president, Moshiur Rahman, and its secretary, Khondokar Enayet Ullah, called for exemplary punishment for those involved in the incidents and demanded compensation from the agitators.

The clashes erupted on Saturday during a sit-in protest organised by the de facto opposition BNP at the entry points of the capital city, to press home their demand for the government’s resignation.

During the programme, the party leaders and activists clashed with the police, set fire to vehicles at multiple points, and also vandalised some vehicles, read the release.

However, BNP secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir denied any involvement in the arson and vandalism. In a press briefing on Saturday evening, he alleged that there was an attempt to blame the BNP for torching and vandalising vehicles in Matuail and Shyamoli areas.

But the incident took place in the presence of the police, and the criminals fled the scene without facing any restrictions, he said, implying the involvement of pro-government elements.