Seven burnt to death after bus firebombed in BD

DHAKA: Anti-government protesters firebombed a bus full of sleeping passengers in eastern Bangladesh on Tuesday, killing seven in spiralling political unrest aimed at toppling Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Several passengers were also critically injured in the attack in the town of Chauddagram which was blamed on activists from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by two-time former premier Khaleda Zia.
“Seven passengers were burnt to death in the bus after the petrol bomb was thrown at 4am,” district police chief Tuttul Chakrabarty told AFP by phone.
“Five of the passengers are fighting for their life as 40-80 percent of their bodies were burnt. They have been shifted to a hospital in the capital,” he said.
“It’s an act of murder and we’re going to hunt down culprits.”
One person also died from burn injuries on Tuesday from an attack on a van overnight in the capital, a doctor at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital said.
The deaths bring the toll in the month-long protests to 54 -- most of them victims of firebomb attacks on buses and lorries -- as opposition activists try to enforce a transport blockade.
Authorities have stepped up the pressure on 69-year-old Zia, who has been holed up in her office since January 3, in a bid to halt the violence. She called the protests early last month, urging supporters to enforce a nationwide blockade of roads, railways and waterways to force Hasina to call a fresh election.