Four perish in train fire as poll campaigns end amid arsons

FE REPORT | Published: January 06, 2024 00:00:49

At least four people were killed in a train fire on Friday night as election campaigns ended in the morning on the day amid arson attacks in different areas of the country.
The Benapole Express train was set afire in front of the Gopibagh kitchen market in the city just shortly before reaching the Kamalapur railway station at around 9:05pm, when it was coming to Dhaka with passengers from Benapole.
Shahjahan Sikder, deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence Media Cell, said they recovered four bodies from the gutted coaches of the train.
"We're investigating if it's an incident of sabotage," said Khandaker Al Moin, a spokesman for the Rapid Action Battalion, at the site.
Eight fire-fighting units doused the flame after about one and a half hours of frantic efforts.
However, multiple incidents of fire and violence were reported throughout the country as the election campaign ended on Friday morning. Polling centres and camps of the ruling Awami League and independent candidates were affected, according to media reports.
In a separate development, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun said that law enforcers have uncovered sabotage plans to undermine the integrity of the general election.
To curb the ongoing arson attacks ahead of the election, police have announced rewards ranging from Tk 20,000 to Tk 100,000 for specific information about saboteurs planning to disrupt the polls.
A report from Feni said a polling station in Feni's Sonagazi Upazila has been set on fire ahead of the elections.
In Rajshahi, four polling centres set up in schools were set on fire in three constituencies of Rajshahi early Friday.
In Chapainawabganj miscreants set fire to an election camp of the Awami League-nominated candidate in the Chapainawabganj-1 constituency.