Train derails on second day of Bangladesh strike, sabotage suspected

DHAKA: A train veered off tracks in Bangladesh in a suspected sabotage attempt, forcing authorities to halt railway services on the route as the Opposition BNP's 72-hour nationwide strike entered its second day today.

"The train (Mymensingh Express) derailed as miscreants removed 42 feet of the track...the train driver and four passengers were injured, though none of their wounds appeared fatal," said a railway spokesman.

Two bogies and the engine derailed at the southeastern Chittagong station, severly hitting sevices. It was the seventh incident of suspected sabotage in a month.

The incident took place as the nationwide nonstop blockade by the BNP-led 20-party alliance entered its 28th day, while the 72-hour strike called by the opposition party entered the second day.

In the past 24 hours, at least six people were admitted to hospitals with burn injuries as suspected BNP activists set on fire 38 buses and hurled bombs at the secretariat in a fresh spate of violence.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party began the protests on January 6, marking the first aniversary of the controversial polls it boycotted and the ruling Awami League won.

The BNP boycotted the elections after its demand to hold the polls under a neutral caretaker government was rejected.

So far nearly 50 people have died in the violence that also marked the beginning of a political turmoil in the country.