Stone attacks on trains persist, still no arrests

Mahiuddin, a resident of Maijdee, was sitting by the window on the Upakul Express bound for Noakhali when a deafening crash shattered the glass beside him.

A stone had come hurtling through as the train passed Cumilla’s Rajapur Railway Station, striking him in the head and leaving him slumped in his seat.

Panic swept through the coach. Railway staff rushed to stem the bleeding, and the businessman, in his 50s, was admitted to hospital on reaching Noakhali.

He had never faced anything so terrifying in his life, the victim, said. “The moment the train crossed the station, I felt a sudden, violent blow to my head and collapsed.

“At first, I couldn’t tell what had happened. Then I saw blood streaming down my head, and realised a stone had struck me from outside.”

The incident aboard the Upakul Express on the night of Jul 30 was no isolated case.

Such attacks have become routine on the Dhaka-Chattogram, Laksam-Noakhali and Laksam-Chandpur routes, as well as other stretches across the Cumilla and Chattogram regions.

Railway Chattogram Region Assistant Transport Officer-2 Md Moniruzzaman said 62 stone-pelting incidents were recorded on trains running through Cumilla and Chattogram between March and July this year.

“At least 15 people, including ordinary passengers and security personnel, have been injured in these documented cases. I’ve also heard that some suffered permanent injuries,” he said.

While stone-pelting on the Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar route has drawn the most attention recently, the figures tell a different story: of the 62 incidents recorded over the past five months, 37 occurred on the Brahmanbaria-Cumilla-Chattogram route alone.

A further 19 struck the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar route, four hit Laksam-Noakhali, and two occurred on Laksam-Chandpur.

Unofficial estimates put the real figure even higher, those familiar with the matter say.

Moniruzzaman said the attacks do not just injure passengers, they damage state property too. “Every single incident has shattered a train window.”

“We’ve seen cases where damage to just one window in an air-conditioned coach renders the entire coach unusable, until it’s repaired, it simply can’t be put back into service.”

He said communities living along the railway tracks need to be made aware of the consequences.�" bdnews24