Editorial
Rly guard's tragic murder
Authorities must re-vamp system's operability
The train service screeched to a halt on Wednesday after the brutal murder of a railway guard, Bashan Chandra Aich (50), the night before. The killer(s) had reportedly strangulated him in the guardroom of the moving train somewhere between Dhaka and Bhairab in the dead of night. The ill fated guard was only conscientious with his duties. The spread of the tragic news at the day-break sparked reaction among railway employees leading to an abstention from services that lasted nearly eight hours.The stranded passengers have had their tickets bought and paid for, schedule of the journey finalised and the works in hand ready at the destinations. Mothers with children had limited food or drinks while professional people were on leave from work for a specific period of time. A valuable day of these commuters was laid to waste by the reaction of railway staffers seeking spot justice of a crime that needed to be death with at law enforcement level. While the criminality of the grisly incident deserves appropriate punishment and the authorities' response in compensating the deceased's family is laudable, the actions of the employees causing hardship to so many commuters all over the country can hardly be condoned. Railway service is an integral part of the essential public services of the nation. Under no circumstances, such services should be allowed to be imperilled. Meanwhile, the railway authorities must re-vamp their operation system to ensure that, even when indispensable employees make spot decisions to launch a strike on any pretext, a contingency plan is in place to keep the system going. Aich's death has forcefully underscored the need for beefing up security for railway employees, specially guards on running trains. His killer(s) must be apprehended, investigated into, charged and tried as per the law of the land. We mourn the unfortunate death of the guard and join his aggrieved family in sharing their sorrows and pains.
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