2 buses 'torched' near Khaleda’s motorcade

Miscreants set fire on two buses near the motorcade of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia while it was crossing Feni Sadar upazila this afternoon.

The two empty buses were parked near a petrol pump on Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Mohipal area, Jahangir Alam Sarkar, superintendent of police in Feni, told The Daily Star.

Suddenly unidentified people hurled inflammable substances at the buses around 4:45pm when Khaleda’s motorcade was crossing the area, our staff correspondent, who is with the motorcade, reports quoting the police official.

Photo: STAR/ Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Some youths hurled "petrol bombs" at the buses parked beside the road that caused the fire, an eyewitness said.

Khaleda Zia along with her motorcade was heading towards Dhaka after visiting Rohingya camps and distributing relief materials among Rohingyas, who fled Myanmar in the face of persecution in its Rakhine state. 

Police rushed to the spot and detained drivers of the two buses. Later, police took them at Feni Sadar Police Station for interrogation, the SP further said.

On information, firefighters rushed to the spot and doused the fire immediately, said Kabir Hossain, senior station officer of Feni Fire Service and Civil Defence.

“No one was hurt in the incident as the buses were empty,” Kabir said.

The convoy of BNP chairperson came under attack near the same place in Mohammad Ali Bazar area of Feni on last Sunday when it was heading towards Cox's Bazar for visiting Rohingya camps.