Police have attributed Wednesday night’s attack on the Shohagh Paribahan counter in Dhaka’s Malibagh and the home of one of the bus company’s owners to a dispute over smoking. According to investigators, several men were smoking outside the residence of company co-owner Ali Hassan Talukder Palash when a security guard asked them to move. They allegedly attacked Palash, his driver, and the guard while vandalising the nearby bus counter. Palash’s brother, Majedul Haque Nadim, said that 60-70 men armed with sticks and sharp weapons launched the attack around 11:30pm. “My younger brother [Palash] was arriving home by car when he was also targeted.
