"What crime have I committed? Why did this happen?" uttered Mizanur Rahman, a businessman who lost his wife and children in the fire. His wife and three-year-old son were burnt to death in a fire set by miscreants in Tejgaon. Miscreants set fire to three bogies of Mohanganj Express at Tejgaon in the capital around 5am yesterday.
Four bodies were recovered from a bogie of the train. The bodies were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) morgue for autopsy. Mizanur Rahman's wife Nadira Akhter Popy and their three-year-old son Yasin were among the injured. The identities of the other two could not be confirmed.
Mizanur Rahman runs a hardware business in Dhaka's Tejgaon area. He lives with his wife and two children in West Tejturi Bazar area. On December 3, his wife Nadira Akhter went to their village home in Netrokona with their two children. Nine members of his family, including his wife and two children, were returning to Dhaka by Mohanganj Express.
Mizanur Rahman said, "Nine members of our family went to visit Netrokona village. I didn't go with them because of business. They returned to Dhaka yesterday. Five people got off at the airport station. The others included my brother-in-law Habibur Rahman, my wife Nadira Akhter Popy, my eldest son Mahim and my three-year-old son Yasin. Habib called me and told me that miscreants set fire to three bogies of the train before reaching Tejgaon Railway Station. Later, the train stopped at Tejgaon Railway Station but the fire continued to burn. My brother-in-law and my elder son managed to get off the train, but due to the smoke, my wife and younger son were trapped in the train. I rushed to see my baby in my arms, his mother. Their whole body was reduced to ashes. What crime have I committed? Why did this happen?"
DMCH Police Outpost Inspector Bachchu Mia said the bodies were sent to DMCH morgue for autopsy. Two of them have been identified. The identities of the other two could not be ascertained as the number of burns was high. However, efforts are being made to know their identities with the help of technology.
Meanwhile, Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujon briefed reporters at the railway ministry about the incident. He said, "The saboteurs became passengers and set fire to the train at Tejgaon. Terrorists are now sabotaging safe railway travel in the name of political program. They have now chosen the train as the main tool instead of the bus. The Mohanganj Express train was set on fire when it was coming to Tejgaon from the airport station in the morning. Three coaches were burned. I have received reports of four deaths."
He also said that safe rail travel is being destabilised through sabotage and terrorist activities. Railway-related violence has been on the rise since the political programme announced by the BNP and its like-minded parties on October 28. It is not acceptable that the railways have been threatened by terrorist activities.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman said BNP leaders and activists who sabotaged the hartal and blockade torched trains in Tejgaon at the behest of foreign countries. Earlier, those who did such things were caught. A man was killed by setting fire to a railway track in Gazipur. Four people were killed today (Tuesday). This is part of their (BNP) central decision.
He added that these sabotages are being carried out in the country at the behest of their leaders who are abroad. They won't get through. We have been able to identify those involved in every incident where arson is taking place in trains and buses. They also admitted that they carried out the incidents at the behest of their central leaders for the sake of their politics.
