‘One of them was still alive’: Cumilla man recounts finding dismembered bodies strewn on rail line

Authorities suspect the three men found dead on the rail tracks may have come on a trip or were taking drugs before a train ran them over

“Around 6am, I was walking past the rail line and saw a severed head and the severed legs of two people lying there,” says easybike driver Shahed Mia.

“One of those who had their legs severed was still alive. He asked me for some water.”

Shahed, who hails from Madhabpur village in Cumilla’s Burichang Upazila, continued: “The village was far away and there was no chance for me to get him water in time. He died in the meantime. I believe that a train ran them over some time between 4:30am and 6am.

The dismembered bodies of three men were recovered from the Dhaka-Chattogram railway track in Burichang early on Wednesday morning.

Locals informed police of the three bodies near Pillar No. 162 when they saw them in the morning. They were recovered and taken to the Cumilla Railway Station Police Outpost at 10:30am.

The dead are between 18-20 years of age but law enforcers have yet to confirm their names and identities, said Burichang Police Station chief Azizul Haque. Police believe they were run over and killed by a train around dawn.

Mehedy Hasan, a driver in the Fakir Bazar Junglebari area, also witnessed the incident.

“The three people who were run over and killed did not hail from the nearby villages. Many people saw the bodies, but no one was able to identify them.”

Local media worker Akkas Ali Mahmud Hridoy said, “There is an abandoned bungalow in the area. We have heard at different times that many people go there to take drugs. We believe they may have come on a trip or were taking drugs. A train ran them over after they fell asleep on the rail tracks.”

Sub-Inspector Sohel Molla of the Cumilla Railway Station Police Outpost said that the bodies were recovered after locals reported them. They are inside the outpost for the moment. The Criminal Investigation Department will collect the fingerprints from the bodies and attempt to identify them.