Ishwardi Correspondent: On the first day of the second phase of the siege called by BNP-Jamaat, a bomb blast took place at the Railgate area in Ishwardi, Pabna. On Sunday (November 5) around 7 p.m., six consecutive bomb blasts occurred in the Railgate area.
At this time, one truck was vandalized, and the railway line was set on fire. However, no casualties were reported in this incident.
It is known that in support of the blockade, 20–25 youths of BNP came to the railway gate and threw six cocktails in a row. They then set fire to the railway line and chanted slogans in support of the blockade. A truck rammed near the rail gate and smashed the front glass. People panicked when the cocktails exploded one after the other with a loud noise. Immediately, all the shops and traffic stopped from the railway gate to the market and the main road of the city. At this time, ordinary people started running in fear of their lives.
Rickshaw driver Ali Hossain said that 20–25 youths came to the railway gate and exploded six cocktails in a row. They collected coconut shells, paper, and polythene from the surrounding area and set fire to the railway line.
Meanwhile, after getting the news, hundreds of activists from the Chhatra League, Jubo League, and Swachhasebak League vandalized the personal offices of former Municipal BNP General Secretary Zakaria Pintu and the office of Mehdi Hasan, member secretary of the Upazila Swachhasebak League, on the west side of the railway gate with batons.
Soon after this, the leaders and activists of the Awami League, Jubo League, Chhatra League, Swachhasevak League, and other organizations took out a protest march in the city against the blockade.
Soon, BGB, upazila administration, district, and local police department officials came to the spot.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Subir Kumar Dash said the situation is now under control. BGB has been deployed.
Pabna, Additional Superintendent of Police Masood Alam, Ishwardi Circle Additional Superintendent of Police Biplab Kumar Goswami Police Station OC Arvind Sarkar, and a large number of police have reached the spot.
Upazila Awami League general secretary and former mayor Abul Kalam Azad Mintu said that, as part of destructive politics, arsonists are trying to create panic among the public by bursting cocktails like thieves. After the explosion, Awami League leaders and activists chased them and fled.
