Opposition leader Khaleda Zia had a rally in Sirajganj, Pabna. As local BNP leader and organizer of the event, Mr Iqbal Mahmud Chowdhury states, first he intended to hold the rally in a field of a local college. However, as local unit of ruling Awami League student wing called another meeting at the same time and same venue, opposition leader’s meeting was moved to a field next to a railway track. Day night public announcement were going on 3 days.
As people were gathering for the meeting and big crowd was sitting on the railway track while listening local leaders speak, a train, coming in full seed, rammed into the crowd. Seven people lost their lives. Five instantly, two later. Like anywhere in the country, the angry mob burnt several train compartments for killing of their comrades. This is a commonplace event in 21st century Bangladesh. Every time a bus / truck kills some pedestrian/ student– local mob runs amok and resort to a orgy of destruction. In Sirajganj it was already a protest rally and public was already gathered. Naturally violence erupted very easily. Several train compartments were vandalized and burnt.
Since this happened, government, totally ignoring seven deaths and the deadly failure in railway communication warning safety net, only focused on the post accident vandalism. Fof the government, five train compartments were much more important that seven BNP supporters lives. Very shockingly, the mainstream media had a similar attitude.
No investigation was even initiated to find the fault in railway communication network. After few hue and cry by opposition secretary general, one fine morning railway announced that it was “SIMPLY” an accident. None bothered to care why the accident happened. Seven lives lost. No one cared.
But hell broke lose on the activists and supporters of BNP. Cases of destruction of government property were filed against few thousand unnamed. And unprecedented crackdown on the opposition was launched. Score of people were hunted down and put behind bar everyday.
16 more held over Sirajganj train attack
32 more held over Sirajganj vandalism
4 more held over Sirajganj train attack
5,000 sued, 20 held, 1 more body identified
6 BNP leaders sued, 32 more held
20 held over Sirajganj violence
Nearly hundred were arrested by the end of the week. Few hundred more are still hiding, being relentlessly pursued by police. Every single day reports are being published about arrests made in Sirajganj train vandalism case.
There was clear failure in Railway communication system is pre-warning the running train that a public meeting was going, people are sitting on the track and the train must slow down. For God’s sake this could have been a public meeting of Awami League or a non political gathering or a passenger bus stuck over the railway tracks or it might have been a gorur haat on railway track. . There must be a safety net in Bangladesh railway system where trains are warned in advance about trouble in tracks ahead. As a train passenger, I have seen many times trains wait in remote places awaiting clearance from next station to be able to proceed. That day this warning system failed. Sirajganj station must know that a public meeting was going on. How could they give a green signal for the train to proceed?
It seems, as long as the people killed were all BNP activists, Government as well as the media are not interested in finding any crime/ flaw in it. And it seems, if they could, government would have rewarded the persons responsible for ramming a speedy train on a public meeting of opposition party BNP.
October 27, 2010 at 3:00 pm
“There was clear failure in Railway communication system is pre-warning the running train that a public meeting was going, people are sitting on the track and the train must slow down.”
I agree that the arrests on the charges of vandalism were politically motivated. But sarcasms apart train lines are for trains only, not for sitting to hear political speech – if people do not understand this basic thing no communication system can alert them, and it is really a tough ask for the scantily resourced country.
October 27, 2010 at 7:04 pm
I see you are back to BD Rezwan. Before you start your job take a tour de BD. See the country. A big number of weekly haats in rural mufassil BD sits on railway track. Railway tracks are home to political rallies in rural BD, where paved roads are not there. Qurbani is coming, you will see how many cow market sits on railway track.
This culture is damn wrong and definitely need to change. But there is absolutely no room to ignore those seven deaths by saying that they should not have been sitting on the tracks at first. Whoever says this, send them to Tejgaon rail line slum. Those tens of thousands of should not have been living on railway track at first. But they are living there for generations.
This is BD reality. Thats why when trains operate, they wait for clearance from the next station, next signal man.
On a different point, if you attend public rallies, you will see how poor people feels empowered. They think, as they are now part of a big meeting/ rally, are the kings. I have seen first hand, people carelessly sitting at the center of the highway ( where there are plenty of spaces on roadside pavement) and yelling at every bus truck trying to squeeze in . ” ওই দ্রাইভার সাবধান, দেইখা চালা। ” I always cringed at the carelessness shown by people attending these rallies. I clearly visualize the same carelessness shown in the train accident. For them, they were in meeting. The train must stop.
Unfortunately our administration knows this attitude. How come Sirajganj town train station did not send the warning to at least slow down?
In BD setting this mistake may happen. They always happen. That day bus plunge killed a lot. This is our reality and need to change. But change will not come this’ Sirajganj way’.
Question, did the government bother to know why there was a communication failure? Why government was not bothered? Would this have been the similar approach if this would have been an Awami League rally?
That day 50 trucks/ buses were vandalized for hitting a student in front of dhaka college. Number of arrested= 0.
October 27, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Actually, its the cows who give the signal to the trains !! And because of anthrax there were very cows at the station!
Also this year there will be no Qurbani Haats, due to anthrax scare.
October 29, 2010 at 4:08 am
“It seems, as long as the people killed were all BNP activists, Government as well as the media are not interested in finding any crime/ flaw in it. And it seems, if they could, government would have rewarded the persons responsible for ramming a speedy train on a public meeting of opposition party BNP.”
It happens all the time. The government tries to charge the opposition for any kind of faults, regardless who are in the Government and whoo are in the opposition.
October 29, 2010 at 10:10 pm
So it is right by you that Awami league killing, looting and extorting and then turn around charging political opponents for crime Awami league committed. Good to know where you coming from.
Awami League started killing people even when they were not in power. We just need to be reminded of how Awami govt came to power
October 30, 2010 at 3:17 pm
“So it is right by you that Awami league killing, looting and extorting and then turn around charging political opponents for crime Awami league committed.”
No, that’s not right to me. And that was not my point of view either. You didn’t get that right! I said ~
“The government tries to charge the opposition for any kind of faults, regardless who are in the Government and who are in the opposition.”
I didn’t specifically mention about ‘killings’, rather all kinds of ‘faults’. I didn’t blame anyone specifically but express as ‘vice-versa’.
Hope you can figure that out!