Rail communications resume after 8 hours in Rajshahi

Rail communications between Rajshahi and the rest of the country have returned to normal following nearly eight hours of continuous railway line blockade by angry students protesting the assault on Furkan Uddin, a student of Rajshahi University (RU), aboard a train.

The blockade was lifted around 3:30pm after the university administration and concerned authorities assured the students that their four-point demand would be met on Tuesday (July 21). Following this, train services connecting Rajshahi with the rest of the country resumed normal operations.

These decisions were made during an emergency meeting held at the Divisional Commissioner's Office involving representatives from the administration, railway authorities, and Rajshahi University. In accordance with the decisions taken at the meeting, the accused Traveling Ticket Examiner (TTE) has been temporarily suspended. Furthermore, a probe committee under the railway authorities will investigate the internal aspects of the incident, while another committee comprising the Additional District Magistrate, members of the Railway Security Force, and representatives from Rajshahi University will conduct a neutral investigation into the matter.

Later, when decisions regarding the students' demands were reached at the meeting held in the Divisional Commissioner's Office, they withdrew the blockade. Train operations subsequently restarted, restoring rail communications between Rajshahi and the rest of the nation to normal.