Dhaka, Apr 21 (UNB) – A man was burned alive as six passenger buses and a government microbus were set on fire in pre-hartal violence at different parts of the capital on Saturday.

Police and Fire Brigade officials said driver Badar Ali of a bus of ‘Eagle Paribahan’ was killed when pro-hartal elements set afire his vehicle near Khidmah Hospital at Khilgaon around 2:05 pm.

The five other buses were torched near Eden College at Azimpur, near Victoria Park at Sadarghat, and at Gulistan, Farmgate and Abdullahpur.

Meanwhile, a microbus of the Public Administration Ministry was set ablaze at Fakirerepool at about 4:30 pm.

Violence at many places across the country also marked the BNP’s nationwide demonstrations in support of the hartal.

Opposition activists also vandalised at least 10 vehicles at Zindabazar-Chouhatta area in Sylhet in the afternoon

Besides, police arrested a number of BNP leaders and activists from different parts of the country on Saturday.

BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi at a press conference said over 150 leaders and workers of BNP and its front and associate organisations were arrested from across the country ahead of Sunday’s hartal.

Rizvi also alleged that police and Rab members raided and damaged the houses of the party leaders and workers.

He claimed that over 600 party activists were injured in various districts, including various thanas of Dhaka city, in police actions on Saturday.

BNP and its allies called a dawn-to-dusk countrywide hartal for

Sunday to protest the disappearance of BNP central leader and former lawmaker Ilias Ali and his driver on the night of April 17.

The party blamed the government for the ‘disappearance’ of Ilias Ali, also a former MP. BNP also threatened to enforce a nonstop hartal if Ilias Ali is not returned.