Sabotage Strikes Mohanganj Express During BNP’s Hartal in Capital
Once again BNP played an inhuman political game by setting fire to the capital-city Dhaka bound train Mohanganj Express and at least four people lost their lives, including a woman and her baby. The train’s three carriages caught a huge fire upon its arrival in Dhaka from Netrokona district amid a hartal called by the BNP. The series of arson on Trains is undoubtedly a massive scale of terrorism of BNP on the line of violating human rights.
This early morning shocking incident occurred at the Tejgaon station, capital city Dhaka, at around 5 am on Tuesday (December 19) morning, according to the fire service and civil defense.
You can also read: BNP Leaders Direct Involvement in Gazipur Train Sabotage: A serious Human Rights Violation
Two of the victims have been identified as Nadira Akter Popy, 35, and her three-year-old son Yasin, as per Md Yasin, said Inspector Bachhu Mia, in charge of the DMCH police outpost.
The identities of the two male victims remain unknown but are aged between 30 to 40 years. Subsequently, the bodies were taken to Capital’s central railway station Kamalapur. The miscreants had set fire to three coaches and the bodies of the victims were recovered from one of the compartments, added the officer.
Tejgaon Thana Police said that when the train reached the Cantonment area after crossing the airport station, passengers detected fire to it. Passengers quickly moved to other carriages. The train driver did not understand the fire situation and continued to drive until it stopped at Tejgaon station. Meanwhile, three carriages in the middle of the train caught fire and were engulfed in flames.
Recently, a series of deliberate train and vehicle fires have marred the country amid the ongoing political turmoil of recent months in the country.
“We suspect that three persons took the train from the airport station and boarded three compartments. They might have set fire to the coaches pouring petrol,” Md Mizanur Rahman, superintendent of police of the Police Bureau of Investigation stated.
Events of train sabotage
As the shadows of the Gazipur incident persisted, the BNP’s disruptive tactics cast a pall over public life. Faced with a lack of public support for their cause, their tactics took a dark turn, resorting to strategies that caused harm and tragically claimed lives.
On November 16, the Panchagarh Express, a commuter train stationed at Gharinda railway station in Tangail, fell victim to arson, igniting a destructive fire that consumed three of its compartments.
Similarly, two compartments of the Jamuna Express train, located at Jamalpur’s Sarishabari railway station on November 19, succumbed to flames around 1:15 am, marking the second instance of a train being set ablaze amidst the BNP’s blockade and hartal program.
On November 23, unidentified individuals set fire to the Upaban Express, an intercity train at Sylhet Railway Station. The fire erupted in the AC chair compartment around 9:30 pm, as reported by Sylhet railway station manager, Md Nurul Islam.
Another distressing incident unfolded on November 27 at Ishwardi Junction in Pabna, where an unidentified group set a train ablaze while it was stationed at Ishwardi Railway Junction around 8:30 pm. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and two fire service units successfully brought the flames under control within half an hour.
BNP’s devil hands
Once more, BNP’s destructive actions targeted a passenger train in Dhaka, aiming to cause mass casualties and disrupt the upcoming general election atmosphere. These orchestrated acts of terror flagrantly disregard democratic norms, as the party refuses to honor its participation in the national election scheduled for January 7th, 2024. It’s a distressing reflection of their repeated disregard for human rights and their opposition to the interests of the people.
The BNP-Jamaat alliance appears to have embraced a hit-and-run strategy, aiming to destabilize the country through a relentless campaign against public cooperation. Since October 28, the party’s support base has rapidly eroded due to their daylong mayhem across cities, resulting in the loss of at least two lives, including that of a police official, and the destruction of numerous public properties.
The rejection of the BNP’s widespread movement by the people has forced the party to resort to sabotage instead of engaging in democratic methods such as public rallies and processions.
Approaching elections has seen a drastic surge in their aggressive campaign. Since October 29, there have been reports of 12 fatalities and the torching of at least 580 vehicles during the hartal-blockade movement. On a single day, December 6, no fewer than 11 vehicles were set ablaze in coordinated arson attacks across the nation.
