Men in 'railway uniform' were carrying fire extinguishers in train moments before fire: Witness tells police

Some men carrying fire extinguishers were roaming about the Mohanganj Express before the fire had even begun, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman said, quoting an eyewitness. 

After visiting the injured at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, the commissioner quoted one Nurul Haque as saying that he believed he had seen the men who had set the fire to the train.

"Moments before the fire, some men, dressed in uniform similar to railway officials, were seen by Nurul moving around inside the coach with fire extinguishers in their hands," Habibur said.

The train arrived at the Airport Station early in the morning, then left for Kamalapur before the fire was spotted.

Habibur said according to the eyewitness account, the men were seen before the train had reached Mohakhali.

Nurul jumped out of the train near Tejgaon's Nakhalpara area when he spotted the fire, injuring himself.  

He, however, did not see the men setting fire to the train.

At around 5:04am today, three coaches of the Mohanganj Express train were set on fire in the city's Tejgaon, Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters Media Cell Deputy Assistant Director Shahjahan Sikder said.

The fire incident on Dhaka-bound passenger train Mohanganj Express, which killed four people, was an act of sabotage, according to the DMP commissioner.