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Dhaka saw noticeably thinner crowds on Monday as the capital braced for unrest ahead of the verdict against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Security was heightened across the city, prompting transport operators and educational institutions to scale back operations amid fears of sabotage.
Major transport hubs, metro stations, schools, colleges and key roads all experienced reduced movement throughout the day.
The anxiety deepened in the evening as crude bomb explosions were reported in Mirpur-1 and Mouchak, injuring a rickshaw-puller and intensifying concern among residents.
Monday's scenes followed a string of arson attacks and explosions across several districts on Sunday, as the Awami League enforced a two-day "complete shutdown" protesting the trial.
According to Dhaka Metropolitan Traffic Police, Monday's first incident took place around 6:00pm at the Mouchak crossing, where several miscreants hurled crude bombs from the flyover.
One rickshaw-puller sustained injuries to his leg. The attackers fled immediately after the explosion.
Earlier, around 5:30pm, an unidentified individual threw two crude bombs from the foot-overbridge in front of Mirpur-1 Mukta Bangla Shopping Complex. No casualties were reported in that incident.
In protest against the verdict, the activities-banned Awami League called for observing "complete shutdown" on Sunday and Monday.
During the programme, scattered incidents of arson and crude bomb attacks were reported in several areas of the capital and other parts of the country.
Ahead of the verdict, several arson and crude bomb attacks were reported in different districts on Sunday. In Sylhet, Mymensingh, Kushtia and Savar, miscreants set fire to seven vehicles, including buses, a truck, a covered van and an ambulance.
Crude bombs were detonated at multiple points across Dhaka. Around 9:00pm, two crude bombs were hurled on Central Road, while another explosion occurred at Bangla Motor around 9:40pm.
Three crude bombs exploded in Shyampur shortly after 9:00pm, injuring a man named Mehedi. Additional explosions were also reported in Gabtoli and Mohakhali's Amtala areas.
Earlier, around 7:30pm, two crude bombs were thrown near the SAARC Fountain in Karwan Bazar. No casualties were reported in the hit-and-run-style attacks.
On Sunday morning, a pedestrian named Abdul Bashir, 50, was injured when miscreants detonated crude bombs in front of the Waqf Building on New Eskaton Road.
Before the verdict, early Sunday morning, activists of the Awami League and its front organisations cut down a tree and blocked the Dhaka-Barishal highway in Gopalpur, Madaripur.
The blockade lasted three hours until law enforcement removed the tree at 9:30am and restored traffic.
To maintain order, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel were deployed in Dhaka, Gopalganj, Faridpur and Madaripur. Police said sufficient measures had been taken to prevent Awami League groups from resorting to sabotage over the verdict.
Between Saturday midnight and 10pm Sunday, seven vehicles were set on fire across the country - two in Sylhet (a bus and an ambulance), two buses in Savar, a covered van in Mymensingh, a truck in Kushtia and a bus in Dhaka's Hazaribagh.
Meanwhile, amid threats and calls for sabotage by Awami League leaders abroad, and mounting concern over arson attempts, large crowds gathered around Dhanmondi 32.
Clashes repeatedly broke out between the crowd and police in the areas surrounding Kalabagan and Square Hospital.
To bring the situation under control, police fired tear gas and sound grenades at regular intervals.
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