Khaleda’s motorcade passes through firebombing

MNA Editorial Desk: As the BNP motorcade carrying party Chairperson Khaleda Zia passed through on its way back to Dhaka from the Rohingya refugee camps, two buses were firebombed and explosives were detonated in Feni. The incident occurred around 4:30pm on Tuesday as the motorcade drove past the Mahipal filling station.

Two explosions were heard after 30-35 cars in the convoy passed the area, witnesses said. Two buses parked on the opposite of the road were set into fire. Violence hit the roof in the area, causing disruptions.

Though the motorcade had been scheduled to halt its journey at the Feni Circuit House, the plan was changed after a morning delay. A few hundred activists of the local Chhatra Dal and its allies came to escort the BNP chief on her way through Feni. The explosions occurred soon after it passed through Mahipal.

Witnesses said two petrol bombs were hurled at two buses parked on the roadside around 4:30pm just when Khaleda’s car was passing the spot some 300 yards away from a petrol refuelling station.

No damage was caused to any of the vehicles of Khaleda’s convoy and no injuries were reported as no one was inside the buses which were set on fire in the explosion. Later fire fighters rushed to the scene and put out the blaze.

The motorcade had also been attacked near the border of the Feni district on Saturday as it made its way towards Chittagong. Nearly 30 vehicles belonging to the media covering the convoy were vandalized. Several journalists were beaten, even after they identified themselves. The BNP and the Awami League have blamed each other for the attack.