Mother clung to toddler as they were burned alive in tragic Tejgaon train arson

Nadira Akter Poppy, mother of three-year-old Yasin, left no stone unturned to save her child from a fire on the Mohonganj Express in the early hours of Tuesday, which claimed four lives including theirs. 

When firemen recovered their bodies, they saw Poppy hugging her son even after death. 

Tejgaon Railway Station became heavy with the tears of the people who had just lost their loved ones in the arson attack. They had only one question in their mind: why did they have to die in such a tragic manner?

Poppy set for Dhaka from Netrokona on the Mohonganj Express on Monday night with nine other family members. Five of them got off at the airport station. Poppy, her husband and their two children were to get down at Kamalapur Railway Station.

Suddenly the J compartment was filled with smoke. People started to get off at Tejgaon Railway Station screaming “fire, fire!” 

Only four people could not get off the train. Among them were Poppy and her three-year-old boy, Yasin. 

Poppy’s brother-in-law, Minhazur Rahman, said: “When the train caught fire, my brother and his nine-year-old son Mahin were able to get down from the train. They realized that Poppy and Yasin were not with them. They could do nothing but watch them burning inside the train. Later, the fire service team recovered their bodies.” 

“My sister-in-law and her son were not in politics. Then why were they burned alive in the name of a hartal?”

“If [railway] authorities can not provide safety, why do they run the service amid political unrest?” he asked.

Inside the train, items belonging to passengers were scattered inside the three compartments burned in the blaze.

Fire Service Senior Station Officer Nazimuddin Sarkar said they think that the fire was set using petrol or any chemical. An investigation team has been formed to investigate the arson, he added.