Train set on fire in Narsingdi

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Our CorrespondentNARSINGDI, Nov 2: Narsingdi Municipality Mayor Lokman Hossain (42), shot by unknown miscreants in the town, died at about 11 pm Tuesday after being admitted into Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Hundreds of people, including leaders and activists of Awami League (AL) and its front organisations, took to the streets after Lokman, also the secretary of AL town unit, was shot. Leaders and activists of Awami League brought out separate processions on Wednesday morning that paraded different streets of the town. All modes of vehicles were off the road. Local Awami League, protesting the killing, also called a three-day (Wed-Fri) dawn-to-dusk hartal in the municipality. However, they later relaxed the hartal for Lokman's burial. The DMCH authority handed over Lokman's body to his family members at about 10:15 am, and it was taken to his Bashail resident at 12:30 pm. His janaja was held at 4:30 pm at Narsingdi Stadium, and after that the body was buried at Shalidha graveyard in the town. Earlier, on Tuesday night supporters of the killed mayor attacked Narsingdi Railway Station. They vandalised and set on fire its furniture, panel board, signal board, signal lines, goods room, station master's room and waiting room. On Wednesday the supporters barricaded the Dhaka-Chittagong rail-line, and halted train communication for eight hours from morning to evening. At about 10:30 am they set on fire the Kishoreganj-bound Egaroshindur Express from Dhaka. The fire engulfed nine compartments of the intercity train. Hearing the news fire-fighters from Narsingdi rushed to the spot, and extinguished the fire after two hours of effort. Agencies add: Police arrested president of Narsingdi district unit BNP and the party's central education secretary Khairul Kabir Khokon from his residence Wednesday morning in connection with Lokman's killing. Officer-in-charge (OC) of Narsingdi police station Anwar Hossain confirmed Khokon's arrest and said he was being taken to the Narsingdi thana. Later, BNP demanded Khokon's release at a press conference, hours after his arrest. Speaking at the press briefing, BNP joint secretary-general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said the government was not informing them about Khokon's whereabouts. "Police picked up Khokon from his residence at around 3:00 am Wednesday. After that, we can't get his whereabouts even after speaking with the state minister for home, Dhaka police commissioner and other high officials," Rizvi said. Meanwhile, additional deputy commissioner of Detective Branch of Police (Dhaka metropolitan) Mehedi Hasan said Khokon was handed over to Narsingdi police.