Bus burning: Accident or sabotage?
When three passenger buses in Bhairab caught on fire, questions were raised. Was this just an accident or was it sabotage? The incidents took place between 3 January and 4 February. Then a passenger bus of Econo Paribahan caught fire at the bus stand on Thursday evening. It ran on the Dhaka- Brahmanbaria route via Mohakhali. The bus caught fire immediately after departing from the bus stand. All passengers managed to leave the bus immediately. Driver Swadhin Sarkar said, “The backseat caught on fire, but there was no passenger there. I first saw it in the mirror.”
Three buses catching on fire consecutively has caused alarm among transport owners, workers as well as passengers. According to Prothom Alo, the three incidents took place within the 100 yards of the Bhairab bus stand. The first incident happened on 3 January. On that day, a Kishoreganj-bound bus of Ananna Paribahan, coming from Dhaka, caught fire in the evening. Police and fire service suspect the fire might have originated from a burning cigarette.
The next incident took place early on 12 January. A bus of Bismillah Paribahan, which operated on the Dhaka-Bhairab route, was parked at the bus stand. Driver Abul Hossain, 58, was sleeping inside. As the bus caught fire, the diver was burned to death too. Fire service claimed mosquito coil caused the fire in the bus. However, the owner of the bus claimed a group might have intentionally torched the vehicle. Footage from a CCTV of a local company shows some people near the bus several minutes before the incident took place. Later they also entered the bus.
Bhairab Bus Owners Association raised the question that how come the fires broke out nowhere along the 250 km distance of Dhaka-Sylhet highway, but only within the 100 yards of Bhairab bus stand.
Three buses catching fire in a gap of a month at same place is unusual as well as a matter of concern. In the past, buses had been set on fire during strikes and blockades of the political opposition, people died and were wounded. Property was destroyed. But this no longer happens. In one incident, mosquito coil was said to be the cause of the fire. Cigarette was supposed to have caused the other one. If the mosquito coil was actually lit, then the driver and workers were careless. If a cigarette caused the other incident, both the passengers and the transport workers are to blame. Smoking is prohibited in a bus, so how did the passenger light up a cigarette? Why didn’t the transport workers stop him? Such negligence is unpardonable.
The transport owners and workers suspect sabotage and this should be looked into. Transport owners have a conflict of interest over many issues including route permits. It should be investigated whether any vested quarter had set fire to the buses.