Student pushed off bus, killed

Wasim Adnan

A student of Sylhet Agricultural University died after he was pushed off a bus by the helper and crushed under the rear wheels in Nabiganj upazila of Habiganj yesterday evening.

The victim, Wasim Adnan, 21, son of Abu Zaher Mahbub and Dr Mina Parvin, was a fourth-year student of biotechnology and genetic engineering department at the university.

Wasim along with some of his friends were locked in an altercation with the driver and helper over fare after they boarded a Udar Paribahan bus from Toll Plaza area of Nabiganj to return to Sylhet around 6:30pm.

At one stage, the helper pushed Wasim off the bus, and the vehicle ran him over, leaving him critically injured, said Kamrul Islam, sub-inspector of Sherpur Highway Police in Moulvibazar.

University students protesting the death of Md Wasim in Kadamtali area of Sylhet. Photo: Star

The student was rushed to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead around 7:30pm, said Siplu Roy, a friend of the victim who was present during the incident.

The bus was later seized by police in Begumganj area of the district's Osmaninagar upazila but the driver and the helper managed to flee, the police official said.

Zedan Al Musa, additional deputy commissioner (media) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police, later said they have arrested driver Jewel Ahmed, 26, from Kadamtoli Bus Stand around 10:45pm yesterday. 

The helper, whose name could not be known, reportedly remained at large as of 1:00am today.

As the news of Wasim's death spread, students of the university staged demonstrations on Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Kadamtoli of Sylhet and vadalised several buses.

Tyres burn on street. Photo: Sheikh Nasir

They called off their protest for the day around 9:30pm at the request of university proctor, Mrityunjoy Kundo.

The university will observe a day of mourning today and no class and exam will be held, said the proctor.

Many students crowded Osmani Medical College Hospital, where Wasim's body was kept for autopsy. 

In July last year, North South University student Saidur Rahman Payel was thrown into a canal from a bus by its driver and helper in Gazaria upazila of Munshiganj.