Indo-Bangla ‘Maitree Express’ Firebombed in Troubled Bangladesh

DHAKA, Feb. 9 (NsNewsWire) — Passengers on the Indo-Bangla ‘Maitree Express’ on Sunday had a narrow escape when opposition activists in Bangladesh hurled petrol bombs on the train going to Dhaka. Violence allegedly triggered by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-enforced nationwide transport blockade continued unabated in Bangladesh.

The suspected blockaders hurled several rounds of petrol bombs on the train on Sunday afternoon near western Ishwardi Railway Station on its way to Dhaka, Bangladeshi railway officials said, reports PTI.

No passenger was injured in the attack. Minor damage were caused to the engine as the bombs exploded under its wheels, a railway spokesman told the Press Trust of India in Dhaka.

The attack is the latest in a spate of political violence that has claimed 75 lives so far. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has clamped an indefinite countrywide blockade.

At least nine persons, including three children, have been burnt alive in the last few days when opposition activists hurled petrol bombs at a packed bus, and a truck.