Hartal supporters set afire two buses and a private car in the capital’s Jatrabari, Mohakhali and Fakirapul areas a day before the start of opposition’s nationwide 84-hour hartal.
The pro-hartal activists blasted four crude bombs while police recovered eight unexploded handmade bombs and detained one from Jatrabari and Mohakhali.
The BNP-led 18-party alliance called the shutdown to press home its demand for a non-party polls-time government.
In Jatrabari, hartal supporters set afire to a BRTC double-decker bus and exploded four crude bombs around 8:45am.
Police found eight handmade bombs in an abandoned condition at the spot, said Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Jatrabari Police Station.
The bus was set on fire in front of a police outpost at Kutubkhali and was completely burnt before fire fighters could reach the spot, fire officials said.
None was reported hurt in the fire.
Meanwhile, a pro-hartal activist set fire to a bus of Titumir Government College at Mohakhali around 11:30am, said Bhuiyan Mahbub Hasan, OC of Banani Police Station.
But the students and staff however bus put out the blaze shortly after it was set on fire, said the OC said.
The students managed to catch one Ashique when he was running away after setting ablaze the bus. Ashique was later handed over to police.
In primary interrogation, Ashique claimed that he set alight the bus as Mehedi, a local leader of Jatiyabadi Chhatra Dal, asked him to do so, said the OC.
In Fakirapul area, miscreants torched a private car near Razarbagh Police Line Hospital around 12:15pm, said a duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence.
The BNP-led 18-party alliance called the shutdown to press home its demand for a non-party polls-time government.
After the opposition alliance announced the hartal yesterday, detectives arrested BNP standing committee members Moudud Ahmed, MK Anwar and Rafiqul Islam Miah when they came out of Hotel Sonargaon.
The fresh shutdown is the longest in a single spell in the last five years.
The previous two spells of shutdown on October 27-29 and November 4-6 killed at least 18 people across the country.
