Panic gripped commuters aboard the Dhaka-bound Abhijatri Commuter train on Sunday night after an altercation over the harassment of a female passenger escalated into a violent attack. Local youths pelted the carriages with stones, shattering several windowpanes and injuring at least one passenger.
The trouble began shortly after the train departed Gopalganj for the capital. According to eyewitnesses, a group of unruly youths harassed a female passenger inside one of the compartments. When fellow passengers stepped in to protest against the misbehaviour, a heated argument broke out between the two groups. Although the situation briefly calmed down inside the carriage, the aggressors reportedly contacted their local associates to ambush the train further down the line.
At around 9:30 pm on Sunday, 16 August, the train pulled into Maheshpur Railway Station in Kashiani Upazila. A mob of local youths had already gathered on the platform. The group attempted to board the train forcibly to drag out the passengers who had protested against the earlier harassment. Sensing danger, railway staff and passengers managed to lock the doors and windows from the inside to block the attackers.
Thwarted in their attempt to enter, the angry crowd unleashed a barrage of stones at the stationary train. The heavy bombardment shattered multiple glass windows, sending debris flying into the compartments and leaving one passenger injured. Fearing for their safety, terrified passengers crouched on the floor whilst women and children panicked.
The violence persisted as the train journeyed onwards. Upon arriving at Nagarkanda Railway Station in Faridpur, the train targeted once again by stone-throwers. Due to the ongoing threat, the train made only a brief, panicked stop before accelerating towards Dhaka. The chaos prevented several ticket-holders at both Maheshpur and Nagarkanda stations from boarding, while arriving passengers were too terrified to disembark.
Bijoy Biswas, the conductor of the Abhijatri Commuter, confirmed the details of the assault. Expressing deep distress over the situation, he stated that the experience was traumatising and appealed urgently to higher authorities to deploy administrative support and security personnel at vulnerable rural stations.
Despite the severity of the violence and the destruction of railway property, law enforcement appeared unaware of the incident. When asked about the attack, Md. Mizanur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge of the Rajbari Railway Police Station, claimed he had received no information regarding the matter.
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