Railway communication on the Dhaka–Mymensingh route was suspended after miscreants removed a section of track in Gafargaon, causing two bogies of the Agnibina Express to derail early Monday. No casualties were reported.
The incident occurred around 5:10am in Janmojoy area when they removed 20 feet of track before the train reached Gafargaon station. The express, coming from Tarakandi to Dhaka, had its engine and two bogies derail as a result.
Gafargaon station master Hanif confirmed the incident, adding that railway security personnel were at the scene trying to control the situation.
Md Sirajul Islam, inspector of the Railway Security Force, said the train derailed after the track was removed and that the team was working to stabilise the line.
Mymensingh Railway Police’s Officer-in-charge Aktar Hossain said the perpetrators had opened the nuts and removed a section of the rail line. The police have been trying to control the situation for two days and are investigating who were behind the sabotage.
The unrest follows BNP leader Aktaruzzaman Bachchu receiving the party nomination for the Mymensingh-10 (Gafargaon) constituency on Saturday. Supporters of rival candidates began protests after the party nomination was announced.
Since 3:00pm on Saturday, BNP activists reportedly set fires at 30 points across the upazila and municipal town, including railway infrastructure. They damaged station computers, signal systems, and wiring boxes, while removing sleepers from the track.
As a result, Dhaka–Mymensingh rail services remained suspended from 3pm to midnight. Roads including Gafargaon– Bhaluka, Gafargaon–Kishoreganj, and Nandail– Trishal also suffered disruption due to arson and vandalism, halting vehicular movement.
On the second day of protests, trains were stopped four times, leaving at least 10 services stranded at various stations. Police and army personnel tried to restore order, but unrest continued, leaving residents of Gafargaon and surrounding areas in fear.
