DHAKA, BANGLADESH: The nationwide hartal enforced by BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) and Jamaat-e-Islami is underway Sunday amid reports of arson attacks in Dhaka, The Daily Star reports.
At least three buses were torched at Baitul Mukarram south gate, Mohammadpur and Tantibazar since the hartal began at 6:00 am.
Commuters have been suffering due to the thin presence of buses in Jatrabari, Paltan, Saatrasta, Shahbagh and Farmgate area of the capital, The Daily Star said.
Meanwhile, another report said that the Detective Branch of police picked up BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir from his Gulshan residence in Dhaka around 9.25am on Sunday.
Fakhrul was taken to DB police on Minto Road, sources at police said.
Rahat Ara Begum, wife of Fakhrul, told The Daily Star, "Police came and seized all the CCTV camera devices from our building. They said they had orders to arrest my husband. I hope they return him soon."
"He (Fakhrul) is very ill," the wife said.
"First, some DB police came to our apartment to talk. After they left, a few stayed in front of the building. About 10 minutes later, they returned and took my husband."
The incident took place a day after BNP activists and police clashed in Kakrail, leading to the death of a police constable and a ward-level BNP leader.
BNP is observing a countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal Sunday in response to the police action that forced it to abruptly end its Nayapaltan grand rally on Saturday.
According to the Voice of America, police in Bangladesh fired tear gas, sound grenades, and rubber bullets Saturday afternoon to break up a massive gathering of opposition supporters amid a steep escalation of political tensions.
The protesters were demanding that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down to allow for a free and fair election under a neutral government. The clashes, which unfolded in central Dhaka, underscore the deep-seated divisions in the country's political landscape, VOA said.