Nine cases filed, 20 held over arson attacks on buses in Dhaka

Bangladesh Desk: Police filed nine cases and arrested at least 20 people in connection with Thursday’s arson attacks on 11 buses in the capital.
Deputy commissioner of media and public relations section of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Walid Hossain confirmed the matter to New Age on Friday.
Two cases were filed with Shahbag, Paltan and Motijheel police stations each and one case was filed with Bangshal, Bhatar and Kalabagan police stations each.
Police arrested six people in cases filed with the Shahbag police station, nine people in cases filed with Paltan police station, one people in a case filed with Motijheel police station, two people in the case filed with Bangshal police station and two people in the case filed with Kalabagan police station.
None was arrested so far in the case filed with Bhatara police station.At least 11 buses were set on fire at separate places in a series of arson attacks in the capital in about five hours starting from Thursday noon.
None was injured in the fire attacks, according to police and fire service officials.
Police claimed that they had already identified some of the attackers and the blamed the opposition Bangladesh National Party and its front organisations for carrying out the attacks.
They assumed that the attacks were carried out to hinder Thursday’s Dhaka-18 by-elections, which BNP rejected on allegations of ousting its agents from the polling centres and widespread rigging.
Several bus staff and witnesses said that they only saw the fire but could not identify who and why the buses were torched.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in a statement condemned the arson attacks and described the attacks on the day of polling as pre-planned and politically motivated.
He claimed that none of BNP or its front organisations was involved in the incidents.