'Political programmes linked to surge in train sabotage'

Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan has alleged that incidents of sabotage on trains are being orchestrated by those announcing political programmes in the name of the movement.

“Railway operations have been under threat [for this],” the minister said at a press conference at the railway headquarters in Dhaka on Tuesday noon.

The minister came up with the statement hours after a tragic arson attack in Dhaka's Tajgaon area that claimed the lives of four individuals, including a mother and her three-year-old child, on the Dhaka-bound Mohonganj Express.

A total of three train coaches were burnt in the incident.

According to the minister, acts of sabotage on the railway have surged since October 28, coinciding with the initiation of political programmes.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and other like-minded parties have been staging a series of demonstration programmes to oust the government and hold the general election under a non-partisan government.

Following today's arson attack on the train, BNP Senior Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, however, said that vested quarters set the train on fire to divert the people’s attention from the party’s ongoing democratic movement.

Minister Sujan said that these incidents are not merely thefts but deliberate acts of sabotage.

The Railway Minister said that incidents of loosening fishplates on railway lines have occurred from Kalurghat Bridge in Chittagong to Cox's Bazar. 

“These are not thefts but acts of sabotage,” he added.

The minister said, “If someone disguises themselves as a passenger and sets the train on fire, it is not possible to ensure safety for the railway authorities there.”

He stated that 2,700 Ansar personnel will be deployed within the coming week to enhance security after the Ministry of Home Affairs approves a proposal.

Since October 28, there have been five reported incidents of sabotage, the minister said.