4 found dead inside torched Benapole Express

The firefighters have recovred four bodies from inside the torched Benapole Express train.

Lt. Col. Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, SGP, psc, confirmed the deaths on Friday night hours after unidentified arsonists set the train on fire at 9:05pm.

However, identities of the deceased could not be known immediately.

One of the victims died while trying to evacuate the passengers of the fire-hit train, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police Wari Division Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Iqbal Hossain.

He said that the train might have been set on fire right after it crossed Saydabad station.

"We suspect more passengers are trapped inside the train. Now, we will enter and conduct a search and rescue operation," he added.

It took around an hour for seven fire engines to douse the blaze, said Farhaduzzaman, operator of the fire service control room.

The fire spread to at least four compartments of the Dhaka-bound train. A search operation is ongoing to determine the casualties and damages.

According to witnesses, the train was en route to Dhaka, carrying passengers from Benapole.

Shortly before reaching Kamalapur railway station, miscreants set fire on it in front of the Gopibagh kitchen market, they said.

3 injured identified
several passengers sustained burn injuries in the arson attack. of them, three have been identified as-Asif Khan, 30, of Netrakona district, Koushik, 35, a physician at BSMMU and Nafis Alam, 22, of Faridpur.

The injured people were rushed to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery and other hospitals.

Of them, Asif received 8% burns, says the duty doctors at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Asif's wife Natasa was also travelling with him. However, she remains missing till filing the report at 1am on Saturday.

Criminals posing as passengers
Police suspected that criminals boarded the Dhaka-bound train posing as passengers and torched it.

Anwar Hossain, superintendent of Dhaka Railway Police, said: "This is sabotage. ... It's inhuman. Those who are involved with this crime will be punished."

He said various agencies are investigating the incident besides the Bangladesh Railway Police.

Earlier on December 19, four people including a child were killed after miscreants set fire to Dhaka-bound Mohanganj Expres in the capital's Tejgaon area.  With the latest casualties, a total of eight people have died in train fires in the country since October 28.

BNP and like-minded parties are enforcing various agitation programmes, including hartals and blockades across the country to meet a number of demands.

They have boycotted the 12th national elections and announced programmes including a hartal on the election day in protest.

The arson took place two days before the national election in the country.