Dhaka: Violence has enveloped Bangladesh as over 100 people have died in the political turmoil which has taken the country hostage for the last 51 days.
While political parties Awami League and BNP are busy playing the blame game, people are living with a constant fear of an axe over their head.
The BNP-Jamaat alliance led blockade and strikes has been on since 6 January, in demand of the resignation of the Awami League government which came to power through the 5 January election.
Of those killed in crossfire, seven were of Jamaat-Shibir and six were actively involved in BNP politics. The other 17 are yet to be identified.
Fifteen people were killed in clashes and over a thousand have been injured. A total of 594 vehicles were set on fire and 579 damaged.
During the blockade, the first serious incident of violence occurred in Mithapukur, Rangpur.
On January 13, a bus was set on fire along the Dhaka-Rangpur highway at Mithapukur and five persons were burnt alive on the spot.
Similarly on February 3, eight persons died along the Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Chouddagram Upazilla when a petrol bomb was hurled at a passenger bus.
Mohammed Wasim, a businessman of Kaptan Bazar in Dhaka, was killed when a bus was set on fire in Comilla.
His wife Kohinoor Akhter said, “My husband was not at fault in anyway. Why was he killed like this? My children have been robbed of their father. How will we survive? Will anyone answer us? Who will stop such politics?”
Eleven persons have died in the burn unit at Dhaka Medical College Hospital during the blockade.
During this period, 56 died all over the country, in petrol bomb attacks and arson.
At least 50 are under treatment in the burn unit at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Their families demand that this violent politics comes to an end. One of them is truck driver Titon Miah.
Dr. Mizanur Rahman, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, said “The right to live is the most important human right, but even that is diminishing. This is a dark chapter where 101 persons have had to die like this. The worst thing is, no one has reacted against these killings as they should have.”
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