Authorities of west zone of Bangladesh Railway have taken up top security measures at its installations, junctions, rail bridges and the engines and bogies including the fuel tankers to check any sort of sabotage by the pro-hartal outfits.
Shah Alam Bhuiyan, Chief Commandant-in-Charge of Railway Security Force of west zone, told the journalists that the security measure of railway has been intensified further following the Jamaat-Shibir attacks on railway establishments.Besides railway’s own forces, police is also assisting them and if
necessary, co-operation from the RAB will be sought to ensure security and to resist sabotage of railway, he mentioned.According to Railway west zone sources, the zone covers three divisional towns and 22-district under its 5,553.3 kilometres of railway tract.There are 214 railway stations of which 144 are operational and 70 are closed. All the open railway stations are more or less important covering 20 junction stations.There are also 10 large and medium sized railway bridges on the route which have been identified as important. Of these, Hardinge Bridge at Pakesy and Jamuna Mutipurpose Bridge at Sirajganj area are the most important for their strategic location.The criminal outfits are attacking the rail establishments, bridges, engines and bogies in a pre-planned way. They have planned to attack and damage railway bridges, set ablaze locomotives, passenger bogies and fuel tankers, remove railway tracks and fish-plates to disrupt train communication.Shah Alam said due to lack of adequate rail police and security personnel, it is apprehended that any major sabotage may be committed by the pro-hartal elements any day at any time. Officials concerned of railway are apprehending large scale sabotage at Rajshahi Rail Bhaban, Khulna, Paksey, Iswardi, Santahar and Lalmonirhat railway stations and at its Saidpur railway workshop and Parbatipur central locomotive workshop.Particularly, after burning of three passenger compartments of Silk City intercity train at Rajshahi railway station on March 2 night has made the railway officials to think about total security of railway afresh.The next day, Jamaat-Shibir activists attacked railway station at Shahjahanpur in Bogra and created a danger for railway movement by removing fish plate and slippers at places on Bogra-Santahar railway tract. The Jamaat-Shibir attackers made a huge damage at Bamandanga railway station in Gaibandha.Recently, the pickets’ burnt two intercity trains at Joypurhat Railway station.Earlier on October 11, 2010 incident of arsoning on train at west zone railway occurred when six people belonging to BNP were killed in train accident during a party meeting at Syedabad in Sirajganj. Subsequently, the agitated BNP activists set ablaze the train compartments and ransacked inside.Bhuiyan said security measure in all large establishments have been beefed up apprehending further attack and sabotage on railway specially at the sensitive railway establishments.As part of the intensified security measures, no unidentified faces
are being allowed to enter and bodies of suspected persons are being searched. Railway Security Forces remained vigilant round the clock, he added.BSS, Rajshahi
