At least four people, including a woman and her child, have died after arsonists allegedly set fire to a train upon its arrival in Dhaka from Netrokona amid a hartal called by the BNP.

As many as three carriages of the Mohanganj Express went up in flames in the suspected sabotage that occurred near the Tejgaon station around 5 am on Tuesday.

Three firefighting units extinguished the fire around 5:12 am and recovered the bodies from a burnt carriage.

Authorities have identified three of the four victims in the incident so far. They are 35-year-old Nadira Akhter Poppy, her 3-year-old son Yamin, and 40-year-old Md Akhter.

All four bodies have been sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue.

Superintendent Anwar Hossain of Railway Police Dhaka believes the incident may have been politically motivated.

Railway staff spotted the flames at a corridor connecting two train coaches, but were unable to put it out with a fire extinguisher, he said

The fire soon spread to the adjoining carriages, sparking panic among passengers. Some attempted to disembark, while others remained oblivious to the fire.

Passengers noticed the burning coaches when the train reached Khilkhet and their cries prompted the driver to stop the engine at the Tejgaon station, according to Md Mohsin, chief of the local police station.

Several people were hurt while scrambling out of the train. Among them, 53-year-old Netrokona-native Nurul Haque was admitted to DMCH with a head injury.

Earlier, on Dec 13, the engine and seven carriages of another Mohanganj Express train derailed in Gazipur after saboteurs uprooted tracks along the Joydebpur-Mymensingh route. A man died and several others were injured in the incident.