Bangladesh shutdown turns violent: Bus fires, crude bomb blasts and clashes rock country

By Tuesday afternoon, Bangladesh had endured a day of fire, gunfire and fear: a bus driver was dead after his vehicle was set ablaze, a student leader lay wounded by gunshots, and offices of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami had been vandalised, some torched, as a nationwide shutdown called by the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League, spiraled into crude bomb blasts, road blockades and street clashes with police. And as the country stayed on high alert, the prime minister left for a three-day visit to Turkey to attend COP 31 climate conference.

The shutdown call has been linked to the escalating political confrontation involving the banned Awami League and its affiliates. The group has called for a nationwide strike seeking to disrupt normal activities, with educational institutions, transport, offices and shops among the targets of the shutdown call. The violence started overnight. In Faridpur, a 60-year-old bus driver, Kalachan Sheikh, died of suffocation after unidentified attackers set fire to a parked bus at around 1.30 am while he was sleeping inside. Vehicles were also torched in Savar, Dhamrai, Gazipur and Chattogram.

More than 50 crude bomb explosions and at least eight bus fires have been reported in Dhaka over the past few days. Explosions have been reported near police facilities, court premises, Dhaka University and major roads, prompting security agencies to step up patrols, checkpoints and surveillance.

The violence also spread to Gopalganj, a political stronghold of the Awami League. In Tungipara, clashes broke out after police attempted to stop a procession organised by the banned Chhatra League in support of the shutdown. Activists allegedly set tyres on fire and blocked roads. A police vehicle was torched during the confrontation, and additional security personnel were deployed. Local sources say that a Chhatra League activist was injured in police firing, with gunshots heard in the area.

In another incident, a BNP ward office in Khagrachhari's Guimara was allegedly set on fire on Tuesday. Police detained six people suspected of links to the Awami League and Chhatra League. Earlier on Tuesday, Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League activists blocked the south toll plaza of the Padma Bridge in Shariatpur's Jajira. Crude bombs were allegedly detonated and vehicles vandalised, disrupting toll operations for nearly an hour before police dispersed the protesters. Traffic subsequently resumed.

The unrest comes amid heightened political tensions ahead of November 13, when a verdict is scheduled in a crimes against humanity case against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two other accused over atrocities during the July 2024 uprising. The Awami League has also announced a Dhaka lockdown programme for November 13. The banned Bangladesh Chhatra League is demanding withdrawal of the ban on the Awami League and the Chhatra League, reversal of the International Crimes Tribunal's verdict against Sheikh Hasina, and withdrawal of cases against party leaders and activists, among eight points it says are aimed at restoring democracy and students' rights.