69 killed as massive fire breaks out in chemical warehouses in Bangladesh capital
Dhaka, Feb 21: At least 69 people were killed as a massive fire on Wednesday night ripped through several buildings also used as chemical and plastic warehouses in an old part of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.
The fire broke out at a chemical warehouse on the ground floor of a four-storey building named Hazi Wahed Mansion behind a Mosque in Old Dhaka's Chawkbazar area and the flames then quickly spread through four other buildings nearby, including a community centre, fire officials said.
At least 69 people have been killed in the massive blaze, fire officials said, adding that the death toll could rise further as dozens of people were trapped in the buildings and the fire fighters were yet to enter into the main spot where the fire broke out.
Most of the bodies were retrieved from the houses around that building while fire fighters now prepare to enter into the five-storey building, the main spot in search of more bodies, a police official at the scene said.
Witnesses said the victims also included passersby, some people who were eating food at a nearby restaurants and some members of a wedding party.
Fire officials said the second, third and fourth floors of the building were used as warehouses and plastic factories and there were some residential flats also.
Over 50 wounded people were being treated at Dhaka's two major state-run facilities Dhaka Medical College Hospital's burn unit and Sir Salimullah Medical College.
Many people were injured after they jumped off the building that housed several families.
The officials earlier said 37 fire fighting units were moved to the scene but narrow lanes made it difficult for fire engines to reach the spot forcing the fire fighters to use long hose pipes to set off the blaze.
A nearly identical incident of fire in 2010 in an old Dhaka building, which was also used as a chemical warehouse, killed more than 120 people in one of the worst fire tragedies in Bangladesh.
It had sparked a public outcry, demanding the relocation of chemical warehouses and stores from the area, but little has been done in the last nine years.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mob assault victim whose ears were cut with pliers, hands were broken dies in Bihar
Nalanda: A 50-year-old cloth vendor who was brutally assaulted by a mob and had his ears cut off and was branded with an iron rod in Nalanda district last week, died during treatment on Friday night, police said.
According to a report published by The Indian Express, the victim, Mohammad Athar Hussain, a resident of Gagan Diwan village, was undergoing treatment at Pawapuri VIMS hospital after being attacked on December 5 while selling clothes on his bicycle.
He allegedly suffered severe injuries, including fractures and burn wounds. Police said six people have been arrested and two minors detained in connection with the case.
Mohammad Shakib Alam reportedly said, Hussain, who also lived partly with his in-laws in Barui village, was returning home when his bicycle broke down near Bhattapar village under Roh police station, forcing him to look for a puncture shop.
“When he asked a group of people about a puncture repair shop nearby, they asked his name and profession and then assaulted him, cut his ears, beat him with a heated rod,” TIE quoted Shakib as saying.
According to the report, Hussain is quoted as saying, “They tied my hands and feet, locked me in a room, and began to beat me up. They beat me with bricks and rods, breaking my fingers and hand. They even cut my ears and finger ends with pliers,” he claimed, adding that the mob had “stripped him to check his private parts, branding his body with a heated iron rod that peeled his skin off”.
“Someone struck me with a rod, another climbed on my chest and throttled me, causing blood to gush from my mouth. My entire body was raw and peeling from the assault.”
In her complaint filed on December 6, Hussain’s wife Shabnam Parveen named 10 residents of Bhattapar village and said several others were involved. She alleged that her husband was falsely accused of theft, brutally beaten, and tortured. She also claimed that villagers threatened her family when they tried to intervene.
The FIR invokes Sections 190, 191(2) and 191(3) (unlawful assembly and rioting), 126(2), 115(2), 117 and 118 (grievous hurt and use of dangerous means), 109 and 74 (abetment and common intention), and 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, with murder charges added after Hussain succumbed to his injuries.
Police also confirmed that a counter-complaint was filed by one of the accused, alleging that Hussain had attempted a burglary. However, officials said both versions are being investigated.
“Gold bangles, mangalsutra, silver girdle, and brass utensils… were stolen from our house,” the complaint claims. “My brother Satyanarayan spotted the thief, and villagers caught him with some recovered items. Hussain struck Satyanarayan with a rod during capture, injuring him,” police said.
According to a police source, an emergency 112 call led Roh police to the village at around 2.30 am to rescue the severely injured Hussain. He and the suspects were then taken to the police station.
Hussain was first taken to PHC Roh, then referred to Nawada Sadar Hospital and finally Pawapuri VIMS, where he died. A post-mortem has been conducted.
Nawada Superintendent of Police Abhinav Dhiman allegedly said a special team has arrested eight people so far and efforts are on to trace the remaining accused.
