Fire on Mohanganj Express: Answers unclear, excuses abound
Although the smoke has begun to dissipate of the Mohaganj Express which caught fire yesterday and left four dead, the reasons as to why the tragedy took place remain shrouded in haze: there are still more excuses than actual answers.
If the Mohanganj Express stopped soon after catching fire, the four victims who died could have been saved, authorities concerned said.
Following the harrowing incident, questions have arisen as to why the train was not stopped as soon as the fire broke out.
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Apart from that, there have been questions about what the train's loco master, director or the attendants of the three coaches that caught fire were doing at the time.
Authorities concerned said the attendant of one of the coaches that was on fire tried to extinguish the flames, but could not inform the locomaster about it as "he did not have his mobile number".
The last stop of Mohanganj Express before the train was set on fire was the Airport Railway Station.
Many passengers of the train got down there.
"A committee has been formed to investigate the incident. It is not possible to comment on the responsibility of the railway employees concerned over the incident before receiving the report of the committee," Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan told The Business Standard on Wednesday (20 December).
Railway officials have refused to comment on the incident as well.
After analysing CCTV footage from Airport Railway Station, the police said no fire was seen in the train till Cantonment Station.
CCTV footage from the Sainik Club area showed the train was on fire.
Dhaka District of Railway Police Superintendent Anwar Hossain said the train's attendant could not inform the train director and the locomaster as he did not have their mobile phone numbers.
Khaled Mosharraf, who was serving as the director of the train, said the guard's position was at the very end of the 14-coach train.
The coach where the fire started was the eighth from the end. Because of this, he said the fire did not come to his attention.
The train's locomaster Dilip Kumar Mondal said, "If a coach catches fire, it is almost impossible for the driver to notice it."
He said that the train was stopped as soon as he got to know about the fire.
Parbat Ali, assistant station master of Tejgaon station, said the fire was seen on the train as it was passing the station around 5am.
On seeing the fire, the locomaster stopped the train, he added.
Mainuddin Manik, who was in charge of the coach where the fire started, could not be contacted.
However, he claimed to the police that he tried to put out the fire immediately after it started.
Dhaka District of Railway Police Superintendent Anwar Hossain said that initially, Manik thought that the fire was extinguished.
"But after three to four minutes the fire flared up again which could no longer be controlled," he added.
Coach attendants are supposed to stop the train in case of any emergency.
However, the concerned authorities can't say why that protocol was not followed when the Mohanganj Express caught fire.
As per the prevailing rules of Bangladesh Railways, the first action of the officials in such an emergency is to stop the train and immediately inform the concerned authorities and control room.
A passenger named Nurul Haque, who was injured in the incident and is currently undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, said the train was set on fire when it came near Banani.
He said railway security forces tried to douse the flames with extinguishers.
However, after a while, the surroundings were engulfed in smoke, he added.
Nurul Haque also said that the train was moving at high speed when the fire broke out.
On Tuesday (19 December), three coaches of the passenger train Mohanganj Express were set on fire by unknown individuals.
Four people, including a mother and her baby, were killed in this incident.
Claiming that the fire incident was related to BNP-Jamaat's strike and blockade programme, the government is holding them responsible for the sabotage.
However, the BNP has denied its responsibility and is demanding a judicial inquiry.
A railway committee has been formed to investigate the incident.
A separate investigation is also being conducted by law enforcement agencies. The director of the train has also filed a suit as a plaintiff.
