BD protesters set train on fire amid opposition strike

20 Dec, 2023

DHAKA: Protesters in Bangladesh set a train ablaze on Tuesday, killing four people, among them a mother and child, amid a countrywide strike called by the opposition to press its demand for the government to resign ahead of next month’s general elections.

It was the latest strife sparked by anti-government protests in which dozens of buses and vehicles have been set on fire, with at least six people killed since Oct. 28, when an opposition rally turned violent.

“Strike supporters set fire to three compartments of an express train,” said fire service official Shahjahan Shikder. “Four bodies have been retrieved from a compartment.” Among the dead were a 32-year-old woman and her son, aged three.

It was not immediately clear how many were aboard the train, headed for the capital of Dhaka from the northern district of Netrokona, when passengers saw the flames a short distance from its destination, police said.

“Apart from setting fire to trains, parts of the railway line are being removed at several places,” said Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan.

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