Bangladesh: Train torched ahead of General Elections, 4 killed; 8th arson attack on trains since November 16

Fear and panic spread across Bangladesh after the Benapole Express train was set on fire in the Gopalbagh area of Sayedabad in Dhaka city on January 5, killing at least four and injuring several others. The incident took place just two days before the General Elections

A young man died while trying to evacuate passengers, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Wari Division Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Iqbal Hossain said.

At least four coaches caught fire on the Benapole Express. The injured people were taken to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery and other hospitals.

The January 5 train burning incident is the latest in a series of violent incidents and arson attacks since October 28 last year. The most recent in the series is December 19, where four people, including a woman and a minor, were killed after arsonists set fire to Mohanganj Express in the Bangladesh capital.

This is not the first arson attack on train in Bangladesh in recent days. According to the Daily Star report, this has been the eighth arson attack on trains since November 16. Eight travellers were killed in the incidents.

The Benapole Express was en route to Dhaka, carrying passengers from Benapole. Shortly before reaching Kamalapur railway station, the fire broke out in front of the Gopibagh market around 9 p.m.

“We initially suspected a fire from households due to the congested area. However, we later discovered that the fire originated from a train. We suspect there may be more individuals inside the train. Now, we will enter and conduct a search and rescue operation,” Mohammad Iqbal Hossain said.

The Bangladesh Railway’s Dhaka Division office has formed a seven-member probe committee to investigate the incident. The committee has been tasked with determining the cause of the fire and the responsibilities of the officials concerned, according to a press statement issued by the Bangladesh Railway a few hours after the incident was reported. The committee has been given three working days to submit its probe report.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has called it an act of “unforgivable crime against humanity”. The minister said that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

Dr AK Abdul Momen said, “When the people of Bangladesh are eagerly preparing for a festive national election – a horrifying act of arson took place on the evening of January 5, 2024, when the Benapole Express, a symbol of connectivity and progress, was intentionally set ablaze by miscreants. This deliberate and heinous act, which occurred at approximately 9 PM around Gopibagh Kachabazar area on its way to Kamalapur Railway Station, has resulted in the death of four persons including two children and scores were injured.”

Ever since Bangladesh’s principal opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and largest Islamist party, the Jamaat-e-Islami, have taken protests against the ruling Awami League government to the streets, arson and violent clashes have been reported across Bangladesh with unfailing regularity.

BNP and dozens of other political parties have boycotted the election and have announced a 48-hour hartal from January 6 in protest of the 12th Jatiya Sangsad Polls.

On January 4, three events were held at the National Press Club in Dhaka, where families of victims, journalists, activists and academics called for an end to the atrocities inflicted on the general public during the blockades called by the BNP and Jamaat.

Security has been beefed up amid fears of violence ahead of the January 7 General Elections.