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State Minister for Railways Habibur Rashid Habib
Cohorts of the ousted Awami League regime have chosen the path of sabotage to incite public panic because they lack popular support, State Minister for Railways Habibur Rashid Habib remarked Sunday night.
The State Minister made the observation while speaking to reporters after inspecting the fire-ravaged Haor Express passenger train at Platform 2 of Dhaka's central Kamalapur Railway Station.
"Those orchestrating these acts of sabotage are associates of the fascist regime fallen in July-August," the minister said. "Having lost public backing, they have substituted mass movement with subversive acts to spread panic among citizens."
He asserted that those responsible would be brought to justice and awarded exemplary punishment, adding that the Railway Security Force (RNB), Bangladesh Railway authorities, district police, and the Government Railway Police (GRP) have been instructed to heighten surveillance across the national rail network.
Habib disclosed that one suspect connected to the arson has been apprehended and will face remand interrogation to trace co-conspirators. Providing preliminary findings on the attack, the minister noted that the arson did not originate directly at the main platform, but rather gun powder was ignited as the train was being shunted from the washing plant area toward Platform 2. Prompt intervention by security teams averted wider destruction to adjoining carriages, he noted.
Addressing allegations regarding emergency response delays, the State Minister noted that firefighters and security teams brought the blaze fully under control by 10:30 PM. He acknowledged that the incident caused a one-hour disruption in train departure schedules before normal operations resumed. To prevent recurrence, he ordered round-the-clock CCTV surveillance and improved lighting across terminals and marshalling yards.
