Ward councillor among 7 arrested over Bangladesh's Gazipur rail sabotage
- Arrestees are current and former leaders and activists of BNP, Chhatra Dal
- Miscreants used gas cutters to uproot 20 feet of rail line
Police in a drive arrested seven people including a ward councillor of Gazipur city in a case filed with casualties and damage following the derailment of Dhaka-bound Mohanganj Express train at the Bankharia (Chilai River) bridge of Gazipur on the Dhaka-Mymensingh railway on December 13.
The arrestees were identified as Hasan Ajmal Bhuiya, No. 28 ward councillor of Gazipur City Corporation, Sohel Rana, Jannatul Islam, Mehedi Hasan, Julkar Naim Ashrafi, Shahanur Alam, and Saidul Islam.
Among the arrested, Jannatul Islam and Mehedi Hasan admitted during the interrogation that eight people led by Masum, organizing secretary of Gazipur metropolitan Chhatra Dal and Kazi Azimuddin College Chhatra Dal Convener Toha were directly involved in this incident.
The main planner and financier of the incident is Hasan Ajmal Bhuiyan, councillor of Ward No. 28 of Gazipur City Corporation.
All of them involved in the sabotage were current and former leaders and activists of BNP and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal.
In a press briefing, Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Commissioner Mahbub Alam said the arrestees thronged the house of councillor Ajmal Bhuiya and held a meeting to carry out sabotage activities.
The arrestees in a planned way uprooted the rail sleepers at the dead night on Wednesday, he said.
During the interrogation, the arrested individuals also revealed that on Monday night, gatherings were organized, chaired by Hasan Ajmal Bhuiyan, and held at various locations, including his residence. In these meetings, decisions were reached, and strategies were devised to disrupt the railway lines. Higher-ups in the group exerted pressure during the meeting to carry out a significant action. The plan to sabotage the railway lines was devised to cause a stir both domestically and internationally in the event of a major incident.
The arrests are ongoing, police added.
After the incident, police said that oxyacetylene and methane gas were used to cut the railway tracks. Someone skilled in such work was hired from outside Gazipur.
On early Wednesday, miscreants in Gazipur used gas cutters to cut and uproot about 20 feet of the rail line on the Dhaka-Mymensingh railway line for sabotage.
In this incident, the Mohanganj Express train, travelling from Mohanganj in Netrokona to Dhaka, derailed while crossing that area, causing six coaches along with the engine of the train to fall from the railway line onto the low ground.
A chicken trader died, while 10 people, including the train driver and his assistant, were injured.
The case was filed on Thursday afternoon.
