Dhaka, Nov. 11 -- Flames devoured the bus while Julhas Mia, 40, slept inside, turning an ordinary night in Fulbaria into a family's worst nightmare. The bus driver, the sole breadwinner of his household, could not escape the fire deliberately set by three masked men, leaving his mother, wife, and sister shattered.

His mother, Sajeda Begum, collapsed repeatedly, her wails piercing the air: "My son wasn't involved in politics. Why did they burn him alive by torching the bus?"

Julhas, a resident of Kaiyarchala village, had recently married Jakia Akter, and the couple faced monthly debts of Tk 15,000 from a total of Tk 300,000.

"He had so much to discover and enjoy. He was burnt alive even before he could know the joy of becoming a father,...