An angry mob in Sirajganj torched an intercity train at Bangabandhu Bridge West station on Monday after it ran into a crowd of people standing on the track beside Khaleda Zia’s rally venue near Mulibari level crossing leaving five people killed and several others injured.
About 80 people, including the driver (loco master) and guard of the train and 20 policemen, were injured in the accident and its repercussions, witnesses said.
Some locals claimed that the driver and guard of the Dhaka-bound intercity train, Drutajan Express, were lynched by the mob after the accident. Their deaths, however, could not be confirmed.
Sirajganj police superintendent Mosharraf Hossain said the driver and guard of the train were beaten up by the mob, while additional police superintendent Delwar Hossain Saidi said they were missing.
The five people crushed under the wheels of the train were identified as Faruk Ahmed, 38, of Kamarkhand in Sirajganj, Suruj Zaman, 65, and Saban Mirza, 65, of Hasna Bagbati in Sirajganj, Bachchu Mia, 45, of Tangail and Thandu Mia, 55, of Enayetpur in Sirajganj.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia, also the leader of the opposition, addressing the scheduled rally after the accident, blamed the government for the tragedy.
Khaleda told the gathering the government had orchestrated the accident.
Communications minister Syed Abul Hossain, however, accused the BNP of mounting a planned attack on the train with an aim to create chaos in the country.
‘The motive behind the incident was to create anarchy in the country. This was made to happen to encourage those who want chaos,’ he told reporters at his office in Dhaka.
He alleged the train arson was aimed to make Khaleda Zia’s rally successful.
According to spot accounts, the Drutajan Express was heading for Dhaka from Dinajpur and at around 3:00pm ran into crowds of people standing on the track to hear the BNP chief.
‘The train just ploughed into the crowd without blowing whistle. Many of them were unaware the train was coming,’ said a witness.
After the accident, the train stopped at Bangabandhu Bridge West station, some 500 yards off the venue, and the mob rushed there and went on a rampage setting fire to the carriages one after another.
Huge plumes of black smoke covered the area. Police stopped traffic at both ends of Bangabandhu Bridge. At that time the BNP chief was staying at Jamuna resort at the east end of Jamuna bridge.
When fire-fighters went to douse the flames, they were forced by the mob to leave the place. The mob also clashed with police and Rapid Action Battalion when they tried to disperse them.
Sirajganj police superintendent Mosharraf Hossain said four bodies were taken to Sirajganj General Hospital. He said the driver and guard of the train were severely beaten up by the mob.
Mosharraf said the police had fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob. The situation was under control.
After the situation calmed down at around 4:00pm, Khaleda reached the venue of the rally organised to mark the death anniversary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader Naziruddin Jihad, who was killed during the anti-autocracy movement in 1990. The BNP chief blamed the government for the accident saying the incident was aimed to foil her rally.
Traffic on the highway and over Bangabandhu Bridge remained suspended till the rally was on. Tailback stretched up to 20 kilometres of the highway, from the eastern side of the bridge to Elenga.
The burnt train remained on the track till this report was submitted at 10:00pm.
The communications minister said a locomotive from Tongi was sent to the spot to clear the track and resume train services. The home ministry was requested to launch an enquiry into the incident, he said.
Bangladesh Railway director general Belayet Hossain went to the scene to assess the situation.
