4 killed as Benapole Express set on fire

Staff Reporter :
At least four passengers were killed after the Benapole Express train was set on fire in the Gopibagh area of Sayedabad at 9 pm yesterday night.

The train was approaching Dhaka with passengers on board from Benapole.
Shortly before reaching Kamalapur railway station, the fire broke out in front of the Gopibag kitchen market.

“The train might have been set on fire right after it crossed Saydabad station,” said Wari Division DC Mohammad Iqbal Hossain.

Seven firefighting units were engaged in extinguishing the flames, Talha Bin Zasim, the station officer of Fire Service and Civil Defense, told The Business Standard.

“As the train was approaching Kamalapur station, we suddenly detected the smell of smoke.

We promptly turned off the air conditioner and disembarked the train,” said the air conditioning (AC) operator Sayem. The arson took place two days before the national election in the country.

Earlier, on 19 December, four people including a child were killed after miscreants set fire to Dhaka-bound Mohanganj Express in the capital’s Tejgaon area.

On Thursday, BNP, Jamaat and their allies announced programmes including a hartal on the election day in protest to the JS polls.
It is feared that there could be more casualties from the incident.