Khulna: Cocktail thrown, then fires at BNP office banner and train coach
Three separate incidents occurred in Khulna within roughly 20 hours: a cocktail was thrown at a political meeting, a banner at a BNP office was set on fire, and a seat in a stationary train coach caught fire. No one was injured in any of the incidents.
Train coach fire
Around 3:40 a.m. on Tuesday, a seat inside a coach of the Nakshikatha train caught fire while the train was standing at Platform 2 of Khulna Railway Station. The train had arrived from Dhaka around midnight. Only one seat was damaged, and the fire was quickly extinguished.
Station Master Zakir Hossain said the fire may have started from a mosquito coil lit by a passenger who was sleeping in the coach. He noted that if it had been an act of sabotage, the fire would likely have spread throughout the coach. The damaged coach was later taken to the workshop for repairs. After the coach was replaced, the train departed for Chapainawabganj as the Mahananda around 11 a.m.
Cocktail attack
On Monday night around 8 p.m., a cocktail was thrown at a meeting of Krishak Dal (the farmers’ wing of the BNP) in Daulatpur, Khulna. The meeting was being held in a tin-shed room in front of “Save and Save.” The object did not explode, so no one was hurt and there was no damage.
Sajib Talukdar, convener of the metropolitan Krishak Dal, said ward-level leaders and activists were holding a discussion at the time. After the incident, the leaders and workers staged a protest march. Daulatpur police recovered a cocktail-like object from the scene. Officer-in-Charge Alimur Rahman confirmed that the object was thrown in front of the meeting place but did not explode.
Fire at BNP office banner
Early on Tuesday morning, during Fajr prayer time, two masked youths on a motorcycle set fire to a banner of the Upazila BNP office in front of Darogar Vita in Ward 8 of Jalma Union under Batiaghata Upazila. Locals quickly put out the fire.
According to police and local sources, the two men arrived on a motorcycle, set the banner alight, and fled. Batiaghata Officer-in-Charge S. M. Mizanur Rahman said an investigation is underway and police are working to identify those involved.
The three incidents have created concern in the area. Police have begun inquiries into all of them.