When the whole country is waiting to exercise its voting rights in the 12th parliamentary election scheduled for January 7, anti-state conspirators have intensified terror attacks on passenger trains in the dark of night.
Political observers hinted that the anti-liberation clique may attempt to carry out more deadly attacks on trains to collapse the largest communication network as part of their deep rooted conspiracy to halt the growing success of the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Within a week, BNP-Jamaat terrors carried out two sabotage incidents on railway networks—one on December 13 in Gazipur and the latest one on December 19 in the capital Dhaka, leaving five innocent passengers killed and dozens critically injured.
On December 13, BNP-Jamaat men deliberately removed around a 20-foot stretch of railway track leading to the derailment of a passenger train in Gazipur.
As the Dhaka-bound express train was derailed, many of its compartments skidded off the track leaving at least one passenger dead and scores of others injured. Police said such type of sabotage has beencarried out allegedly by the terrors of BNP and Jamaat as part of an attempt to throw the railway sector, the safest and biggest communication system in the country, in danger.
The pro-opposition saboteurs not only removed the railway track in Gazipur, they carried out around 30 attacks on the railway sector at different times earlier during the blockade and hartal programmes, while more than 300 vehicles, including buses, trucks and ambulances, were also torched.
In the circumstances, common people urged the authorities concerned to take stern action to ensure the country’s communication system was secure.
On December 2, BNP-Jamaat miscreants removed nuts and bolts from Cox’s Bazar-Dhaka rail line in Ramu upazila, causing an almost half-an-hour delay of the Cox’s Bazar Express train that had left the Cox’s Bazar station.
They set fire to a train standing at Ishwardi Junction Railway Station in Pabna on November 27.
BNP-Jamaat activists set fire to a coach of the intercity Upaban Express, which was parked at Sylhet railway station around 9:30 pm on November 22.
On November 22, police foiled a sabotage attempt of BNP-Jamaat to derail a train in Fatullah on Dhaka-Narayanganj route.
BNP-Jamaat supporters attached a heavy iron plate to the rail line at Kotolerbagh in an attempt to derail the train. On information, police rushed to the spot and removed the iron plate from the rail line.
On November 19, opposition supporters set fire to two compartments of the Jamuna Express train, which was stationed at Jamalpur's Sarishabari railway station.
On November 16, they also set fire to the railway line in Dinajpur’s Birampur upazila.
On November 13, BNP-Jamaat activists set ablaze five railway sleepers over the Golaghat (Matikata) river in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur on the Dhaka-Mymensingh railway.
On November 6, Jamaat-Shibir activists protested by burning tires on the Dhaka-Mymensingh railway tracks. They also set fire to Dhirasram area between Joydebpur-Tongi station.
Pro- BNP-Jamaat attackers hurled a crude bomb at the Maitree Express train near Ishwardi junction in Pabna, resulting in damage to a window of the train compartment on November 1.
During the deadly BNP-Jamaat anarchies in 2013 and 2014, rail communications across the country were seriously affected during their political programmes like shutdowns and blockades.
At least 100 passengers were injured as six compartments of a train derailed near Burichang Rail Station in Cumilla as BNP-Jamaat activists had removed fish plates from the track.
The rail link of Dhaka with Chattogram and Sylhet was also halted as BNP-Jamaat caders set fire to fish plates at Pahartali area in Chattogram.
Rail links of Rajshahi with Dhaka and Khulna were also temporarily suspended because of the derailment of Dhumketu Express.
An engine and five compartments of the train were derailed as BNP-Jamaat supporters removed fish plates from the railway tracks at Charghat in Rajshahi.
BNP-Jamaat cadres had torched two compartments of a train at Noldanga station of Natore district.
The opposition activists set fire to two compartments of Rajshahi-bound ‘Uttara Express’ leaving several people injured.
In capital Dhaka, Juba Dal cadres blocked rail lines at Karwan Bazar setting fire to sleepers.