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Bangladesh's crisis-affected economy takes a further knock as a three-day blockade from Tuesday follows a daylong hartal enforced Sunday by BNP and its allies to protest their previous day's foiled anti-government demonstrations.
At least three more people died amid violence after Saturday's mayhem that had left two dead, including a policeman, reports from across the country said. In a major development on the pre-election confrontational political landscape of the country, BNP Secretary-General Mirza Kakhrul Islam Alamgir was arrested after the general strike got underway on Sunday morning.
Numerous vehicles were torched or vandalized amid outbreaks of violence since Saturday's foiled grand rally of the BNP, and Sunday's shutdown disrupted normal life and economic activity.
Around 200 people were reported injured amid clashes and arson attacks on buses since the flare-ups that marred the BNP grand rally Saturday in Dhaka's Nayapaltan. And the mainstream opposition called the general strike for Sunday.
Meanwhile, the BNP and its like-minded parties announced a three-day all-out blockade programme across the country from Tuesday, in their bid to scale up their agitation for release of the detainees and holding the upcoming general election under a neutral administration.
"The blockade will apply to all modes of communications till Thursday to press home our one-point demand for immediate resignation of the ruling government," BNP's Senior Joint Secretary-General, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, said in an announcement on Sunday evening.
He further said the blockade will be held in protest against the detention of party Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the assaults during the citywide rallies on Saturday and "tragic killing of several party activists".
The dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) passed off almost peacefully in Dhaka with few incidents but clashes marked the day in several districts.
Law-enforcing agencies reportedly detained hundreds of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami activists and leaders across the country. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was picked up from his residence in the city.
The opposition party called the shutdown to protest police action that foiled its grand rally on Saturday. Fewer vehicles were seen plying the city roads during the shutdown.
Jamaat-e-Islami party also separately announced a hartal for Sunday, the first workday of the week.
Since Sunday morning, at least three buses had been torched in the capital's Demra, Mohammadpur and Baitul Mukarram areas. A helper of a bus died in the Demra arson incident, according to police.
Undetected persons set three buses on fire in capital's Mohammadpur, Tantibazar areas and near the south entrance of Baitul Mukarram mosque between 9:00 and 10:20 am on Sunday, according to the fire service.
Earlier around 3:30 on Saturday night, another bus was set alight at Daila of Demra in the capital.
Fire service said one of the driver's assistants of that bus was killed in the incident while another sustained burn injuries. Both of them were sleeping in the bus. Reports said a leader of Sramik League, the labour wing of the ruling Awami League, was killed in a clash in northern Lalmonirhat district. He was named Jahangir Alam, aged 50.
Meanwhile, BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was detained by detective police. He was detained from his house in Dhaka's Gulshan area at around 9:30am, Shamsuddin Didar, a member of the BNP chairperson's press wing, told the media.
Detective Branch of Police Additional Deputy Commissioner (Gulshan Division) Hafiz Al Asad said they brought in Mirza Fakhrul Islam for questioning. Later, he was sued in a Ramna police case and the process was on for producing him in court.
Meanwhile, police cordoned off BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and BNP Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas's Shahjahanpur residences.
Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) joined police and RAB to patrol the capital city during the shutdown. Bar the three bus-arson incidents, the hartal was observed almost peacefully in other areas of the city as a small number of vehicles were found plying until 1:00 pm on the day.
Visiting Manikmian Avenue, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Shahbag, Motijheel, Shapla Chattar, Nayapaltan, Shantinagar, Khilgaon, Gabtoli-Mirpur Road to Science Laboratory, the FE correspondents found only a few buses, private cars and other four-wheelers on the streets while CNG-run autos and human-run rickshaws were only commuting vehicles in most of the city intersections.
Different wings of the ruling Awami League held processions on the day in protest against the hartal.
Railway authorities confirmed that trains left and arrived at the Kamalapur Railway Station on schedules. But visiting the station, an FE writer found a lesser number of passengers than that of normal days.
Launch operation at Sadarghat terminal was seen normal with few passengers taking trips.
Meanwhile, a BNP ward leader in Dhaka was found dead on the day in Mohammadpur.
BNP alleged Md Abdur Rashid, their local government affairs secretary in Ward 30 under Adabar police station, died under "suspicious circumstances". During the shutdown, unidentified individuals set a Paristhan Paribahan bus on fire in Mohammadpur's Town Hall Bazar area, leading to Rashid's reported death.
Police sources indicated Rashid might have fallen from a building while fleeing the scene, but "details remained unconfirmed pending investigation".
BNP claims Rashid was beaten to death and pushed off a roof by Awami League members during his return from a procession, according to different reports by local media.
Transactions at banks in Motijheel business district were insignificant due to poor presence of customers. Most shopping malls were closed expect few functioning in Elephant Road and some other adjoining areas in the capital.
However, presence of government officials at Bangladesh Secretariat was as usual but the number of visitors was very minimal.
Kitchen markets in the capital were functioning as usual. But the prices of essential commodities, especially green vegetables, were exorbitant.
Traders attributed the price hike to absence of goods-laden vehicles, especially perishable items-carrying (vehicles), which could not enter the city's kitchen markets.
Meanwhile, police in the morning cordoned off the BNP office in Nayapaltan with yellow tape, and were apparently treating it as a 'crime scene'.
Riot police stood guard outside and members of a forensic investigation team from the police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) were the only ones allowed in the office, says a spot account of the situation.
After series of clashes between BNP men, and police and Awami League activists on Saturday, Paltan was standstill with almost all businesses closed and gates shuttered.
The gates and doors of many small residences inside alleyways were also seen locked from outside.
Only one or two convenience or chain stores were seen open around 1:00pm on the day. Every single passageway had a hefty presence of cops in riot gear, ordering rickshaws and bystanders to stay away from the general vicinity of the BNP office.
A hot-water cannon was also found parked out there, while all police personnel were armed.
Meanwhile, to drum up the hartal BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi along with others brought out a procession in Shantinagr area in the capital on Sunday morning. They paraded different adjoining roads of the area chanting anti-government slogans.
They demanded government's resignation, release of detained party chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and holding national elections under a neutral caretaker government.
Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense in a statement issued Sunday said a total of 45 incidents of setting fire on vehicles took place from October 28 noon to October 29 evening across the country by wayward mobs.
Of the total fire incidents, 27 occurred in the capital. The fire service said from 5:00 am to 6:00 pm on Sunday a total of 13 incidents of fire were reported across the country, four having happened in Dhaka City Corporations' areas.
It said that the unruly mobs had set fire to 41 vehicles in Dhaka division while one in Rajshahi division, two in Khulna division, one in Rangpur division. Of the fire incidents, 19 were buses, three microbuses, three ambulances, one truck, seven motorbikes, three pick-ups and one CNG-run auto-rickshaw.
It also said fire was also set to police box, power office, bus counter, and political-party office.