Police have arrested three Chhatra League leaders in connection with the arson attack on belonging to Al Baraka Paribahan in Naogaon town.
The arrestees are Ekramul Bari Dollar, 26, and Md Shahanuar Newaz Likhon, 28, both vice-presidents of the district unit Chhatra League, and Md Shishir, 55, vice-president of the Awami League’s Ward 5 unit in the town.
Police arrested Shishir from the Sonapatti area on Tuesday evening, while the other two were picked up from their respective homes on Tuesday afternoon.
Naogaon Sadar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Mintu Rahman confirmed the arrests, saying the three were detained in connection with a case filed over the arson attack and sabotage.
Police are questioning the arrestees and investigating the incident, he said, adding that they would be produced before a court on Wednesday.
The two buses were set on fire around 12:30am on Tuesday at Gabtali intersection on the town’s bypass road, where they had been parked side by side.
A Fire Service unit rushed to the scene and brought the blaze under control. By then, however, almost everything on both buses had been gutted, leaving only their metal frames.
No casualties were reported.
Bus owner Md Sagir Ahmed said both vehicles suffered almost identical damage, with the loss estimated at Tk15lakh to Tk16lakh for each bus.
The total damage is estimated at Tk30lakh to Tk32lakh.
He said it would take two to three months to repair the buses and put them back on the road.
Following the incident, the bus owner and local residents alleged that the vehicles had been deliberately set on fire.
Police initially suspected that the fire might have originated from a mosquito coil. However, they had also said they would examine CCTV footage and use information technology to determine the actual cause of the incident.
