Current Correspondent: The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DB) has arrested six people, including Mohammad Nabi Ullah Nabi, the joint convener of Dhaka Metropolitan South BNP, on suspicion of being involved in the Benapole Express train fire incident. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner of Police and Head of DB Mohammad Haroon Or Rashid claimed that BNP leaders were in a video conference with them before the fire in the train.
He said that the arrested were directly involved in the fire in the Benapole Express train. Before the train caught fire, 10 to 11 members of BNP held a video conference. There they plan everything from start to finish.
Haroon Or Rashid gave this information at a press conference organized at DMP Media Center on Saturday (January 6) at noon. DB Pradhan said that the high profile leaders of BNP held a video conference as a plan to fire the Benapole Express train. Khandkar Enam, convenor of Mahanagar Dakshin Juba Dal, came first to the conference. Then came member secretary Rabiul Islam Nayan, joint convener MA Ghaffer, Iqbal Hossain Bablu, an office secretary and Kazi Mansoor.
They came on video conference and said to set fire to a Dhaka-bound train from Greater Mymensingh, especially near Narsingdi. At another place, they wanted to attract national and international media attention by setting fire to a passenger train at a convenient place on the up-down line from Kamalapur to Narayanganj.
Haroon Or Rashid also said that under the supervision of Dakshin Juba Dal leader Rabiul Islam Nayan, Benapole Express was set on fire by some Dagi terrorists of Lalbagh, a few teams of Juba Dal. It is said in the video conference, who will set fire to the train? One of the 10 to 12 people at the conference said he could start a fire. However, for the sake of the investigation, we will not say his name at this time.
Besides, three other people who were in the video conference said that they can start the fire. They hurled bombs and arson in various areas in 2013-14. They set fire to the train from the area around Jatrabari.
The head of the Metropolitan DB also said that the mobile from which the video conference was held has been recovered by the DB. The mobile belongs to Kazi Mansoor. He is under our arrest. Those who were once known as the tainted convicts in the jail, are the ones who started this arson.
The DB official also mentioned that those who have been arrested will be remanded and the details about the fire in the train will be given later.
