Shawdesh deks;

Miscreants set fire to the local office of Bangladesh Nationalist Party at Boikali in Khulna city on Sunday during the countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal called by BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.

Quoting local people, Anwar Hossain, officer-in-charge of Khalishpur Police Station, said that on information, police went to the spot and helped local firefighting units to douse the fire.

Witnesses said, a group of 50-60 people set the office of ward 14 BNP unit on fire.

Furniture and documents in the office were gutted in the fire.

The miscreants also vandalised some shops in the area.

Shafiqul Alam Mona, convener of Khulna district unit BNP, claimed that Awami League men set the BNP office on fire.