Railway official dies from head injury

A railway official, who suffered injuries to his head after unidentified assailants hurled stones at him on a moving train, died on Monday after a 41-day battle for life.  

Bayezid Shikder, an inspector of Bangladesh Railway, died around 8:00pm while undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital (BSMMU), Brig Gen Abdullah Al Harun, director of the hospital, said yesterday.

On April 30, the inspector was on duty on a Benapole commuter train, on Khulna-Benapole route.

When the Khulna-bound train from Benapole was crossing the Daulatpur station area, some unidentified assailants pelted stones on the running train, injuring the official.

With serious injuries in his skull, Bayezid was immediately flown to Square Hospitals, in an air ambulance. Later he was transferred to BSMMU.

Contacted, Amzad Hossain, director general of Bangladesh Railway, said, “It's a clear murder.”

“We should not take the matter lightly. The way they throw big stones, indicates that they do it only to kill people,” he said, adding that such incidents have become frequent on Jessore-Khulna route.

“A gang often pelts stones in the area. They are trying to destabilise the railway system,” he added.

The DG demanded that law enforcers take the matter seriously and bring the culprits to book.

The railway authorities have filed a case over the incident.

Around 2,000 people became victims of stone throwing on running trains in the last five years across the country, said railways ministry Secretary Mofazzel Hossain on May 17.

At the meeting organised to stop stone pelting, the secretary said in recent times the tendency saw an alarming rise.

Among the victims, 14 were officials of Bangladesh Railway, he also said.

Railway identified 66 spots, under 14 districts where these incidents were frequent, he added.