Miscreants set fire to four buses -- three of them parked on roads -- in Gazipur and Ashulia of Dhaka's Savar upazila within six hours until early today.

Abdul Hannan, officer-in-charge (OC) of Ashulia Police Station, told The Daily Star that miscreants torched a bus of Alif Paribahan parked near Women and Children's Hospital in Ashulia's Sarkar Market area on the Abdullahpur-Baipail Road around 4:30am.

"During the initial investigation, we found that four miscreants wearing helmets and riding two motorbikes set the bus on fire," said OC Hannan.

Police believe the arson attack may be linked to the banned Awami League's "Dhaka Lockdown" programme scheduled for tomorrow (November 13).

The bus driver, Sattar, said that he was sleeping inside the bus when he suddenly noticed the fire." "I jumped out through the window and saw four people standing beside two motorcycles wearing helmets. When nearby security guards tried to stop them, the miscreants opened fire and fled."

Sattar suffered minor injuries when he was jumping off the bus, OC Abdul Hannan said.

Confirming the incident, Pranab Chowdhury, senior officer at the DEPZ Fire Service and Civil Defence Station, said, "In the morning, miscreants set fire to the bus, and fled on motorcycles. Upon receiving the information, we went to the scene and brought the fire under control. Fortunately, no casualties were reported."

In Gazipur, a parked Banasree Paribahan bus was set ablaze by miscreants beside Persona filling station in Beraider Chala area of Sreepur around 4:50am, confirmed Mahmudul Hasan in-charge of Sreepur Fire Service.

Two units from Sreepur Fire Station rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire by 5:20am.

Gazipur Fire Service and Civil Defense Assistant Deputy Director Md. Mamun said no casualties were reported.

Another incident took place on Dhaka-Tangail highway in the Bhogra Bypass area of ​​Gazipur around 4:00am today.

On information, a firefighting unit from the local fire service brought the blaze under control after 20 minutes of efforts.

Gazipur Fire Service and Civil Defense Assistant Deputy Director Md Mamun said, "Miscreants set fire to a VIP vehicle parked in front of our station. Many parts including the bus seats were burnt. The fire was later brought under control."

Sub-Inspector (SI) of Basan Police Station Mohammad Parvez Mia confirmed the incident and said Officer-in-Charge Md Shaheen Khan visited the scene. "No one was injured in the incident," he added.

Earlier, around 11:00pm yesterday, a bus was set on fire on Kaliakair-Nabinagar road in Chakraborty area of Gazipur.

Locals and police said a bus was parked on the roadside in front of Jyoti Filling Station in Gazipur city's Chakraborty area, where a mechanic was lying underneath the vehicle carrying out repair work.

Suddenly, two youths on a motorcycle stopped beside the bus, poured petrol on it, and set it on fire before fleeing the scene.

Later, locals rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control.

There were no casualties as the bus had no passengers at the time of the incident.

Several seats and mechanical parts of the bus were damaged in the fire. After receiving information, Kashimpur Police Station inspected the scene.

Officer-in-Charge of Kashimpur Police Station Mohammad Moniruzzaman said that some miscreants came on a motorcycle and set the bus on fire and fled. Later, locals controlled the fire. Although the bus was damaged, there were no casualties.