Dhaka, Jan 6 (EFE).- Bangladeshi police arrested eight suspects, including a senior opposition leader, on Saturday for setting a moving train on fire that killed at least four people a day ago.
Dhaka police officer Harun-or-Rashid said BNP leader Nabiullah Nabi and others were arrested in separate drives after the arson.
“Some 10–11 BNP leaders and activists ed a video conference (and) planned to carry out the attack,” Harun told reporters.
Miscreants set fire to the Benapole Express train near Dhaka’s main station on Friday night, leaving four compartments burned completely.
Fire service said they recovered four bodies, while authorities at a Dhaka hospital said at least eight injured people were undergoing treatment.
Police suspected the fire was an incident of arson.
Bangladesh authorities immediately pointed a finger at the opposition BNP, which has called for a boycott of Sunday’s general election.
“This reprehensible incident, undoubtedly orchestrated by those with malicious intent, strikes at the very heart of our democratic values,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
BNP denied the allegation, describing it as an “anti-human” activity and accusing the government of perpetrating it to divert public attention.
“This inhuman incident is pre-planned and ill-motivated… We demand an international investigation of the incident through the United Nations,” BNP spokesperson Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said in a press statement.
The BNP began a 48-hour general strike on Saturday, urging people to refrain from voting in a “sham” election.
The opposition has urged the people to abstain from paying taxes and participating in the electoral process. EFE
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