4 killed in train blaze in Bangladesh as political tensions run high

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - At least four people, including a woman and her three-year-old child, were killed in Bangladesh Tuesday morning in what authorities confirmed was an arson attack on a commuter train.

Arsonists in the capital Dhaka set alight three cars of the Mohanganj Express at the Tejgaon Railway Station, according to the media team of the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense.

The bodies of the victims were recovered from one of the compartments after three units of firefighters rushed to the scene and brought the fire under control, it added.

Authorities have formed a five-member team to uncover the identities of the perpetrators, who were disguised as passengers and fled the scene.

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) condemned the attack, demanding a fair investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

This came after another deadly incident last week, when seven coaches of a Dhaka-bound commuter train went off the tracks in the central city of Gazipur on Wednesday after suspected saboteurs sliced through the railway line using a gas cutter.

One passenger was killed and several others were injured. No group has yet claimed responsibility for either attack.

The attacks took place as political tensions in the South Asian country are running high, with national election campaigns kicking off Tuesday and opposition parties calling a strike in protest of the government refusing to instate a neutral caretaker administration until the polls on Jan. 7.

The government has called such a setup unconstitutional.

Since political unrest erupted in late October, at least 21 opposition supporters in Bangladesh have been killed, along with a journalist and a police officer. More than 25,100 BNP supporters have so far been arrested in the turmoil. Over 1,249 others have been handed jail terms, while cases were filed against more than 93,200, according to the BNP.