Saboteurs removed 20 feet of rail track, claim administration members

Two distinct inquiry committees have been formed to look into the Mohonganj Express train derailment that occurred in near of Gazipur‍‍`s Bhawal Railway Station and resulted in one fatality.

Abul Fateh Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, the district administrator of Gazipur, paid a visit to the location on Wednesday morning.

To look into the occurrence, a five-member committee, headed by Additional District Magistrate Humayun Kabir. Meanwhile, another seven-member investigation committee led by Divisional Signal and Telecommunication Engineer Soumik Sawan Kabir has been formed on behalf of Bangladesh Railway.

Three working days have been given to the committee to submit a report.

After visiting the accident site, the deputy commissioner said the incident is suspected to have resulted from sabotage

"The Mohanganj Express, which was headed towards Dhaka, derailed due to the intentional removal of a 20-foot section of rail track"said, DC Abul Fate. He said, those enforcing the blockade, aiming to disrupt vehicle and train movement, might be behind this incident.

Seven coaches of the Dhaka-bound Mohonganj Express derailed near the Bhawal railway station after parts of the rail track were uprooted killing one and injuring seven people.

According to Md Kamrul Ahsan, Director General (DG) of Bangladesh Railway, the government will give the deceased‍‍`s family Tk 100,000 as compensation.

Anwar Hossain, superintendent of Dhaka Railway Police told the reporters, "The goal of the subversive action is to harm passengers on trains and destroy property owned by the government. We suspect pro-blockade supporters were behind it. We will be able to identify and arrest those involved in the incident," and added that intelligence wings and district police were working on the matter in addition to the railway police.

Police and district administration representatives reported that they have found two gas cylinders that had been used to run gas cutters to cut the track.

The incident happened on the second day of the 36-hour blockade that the BNP and its allies had called in protest of the election schedule‍‍`s announcement.

According to BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, it was unquestionably a sabotage attempt. He denounced the attack and conveyed his profound concern for the passengers‍‍` injuries and deaths.

The BNP leader called for the prompt arrest of those responsible and a judicial investigation into the incident in a press release released by the party.

"Those who carried it out are enemies of humanity," he stated.

Additionally, he said that a couple of media outlets were attributing the derailment to political parties engaged in pro-democracy campaigns.

"This proves, and people believe it too, that this kind of sabotage was conducted in a well-planned manner," he said, branding it as a deep conspiracy.

The Dhaka-Mymensingh train route was shut down immediately following the accident. Later, railway authorities restored service via Tongi as a substitute route.