Culprit driver hit pedestrian before killing Abrar: police

The bus driver of Suprobhat Paribahan, which killed a university student near the capital's Bashundhara Residential Area on Tuesday, was driving recklessly to flee the spot after hitting another pedestrian in Shahjadpur area, said police.

The deceased, Abrar Ahmed Chowdhury, was a first-year honours student of international relations department at Bangladesh University of Professionals.

The difference between the two accidents was just 10 minutes, according to the case statement. 

The vehicle bearing the number plate -- Dhaka Metro-Ba-11-4135 -- hit a college girl   Synthia Islam Mukta, 20, in Shahjadpur's Banshtala area around 7:20am, Aminul Islam, inspector (operations) of Gulshan Police Station, told The Daily Star yesterday.

The bus driver was driving recklessly to flee the scene after hitting Synthia and eventually ran over Abrar when he was crossing a road through a zebra crossing near Bashundhara Residential Area at 7:30am, said the police official.

Aminul added that they were trying to contact Synthia, who returned home after receiving treatment at a Shahjadpur hospital, and her family members.

Synthia, who lives with her family in the capital's Bhatara area, was going to her college in Mirpur on Tuesday morning, said police. 

In another development, a Dhaka court placed bus driver Sirajul Islam, 24, on a seven-day remand in the case filed by Abrar's father Brig Gen (retd) Arif Ahmed Chowdhury. 

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Debdas Chandra Adhikari passed the order after Aminul, also the investigating officer of the case, produced Sirajul before the court with a 10-day remand appeal. 

Abrar's father lodged the case with Gulshan Police Station against the bus driver, helper, conductor and owner.

In the case statement, the complainant mentioned that Abrar went to the main gate of Bashundhara Residential Area from the B-block house in a private car. Then Abrar was crossing the road through a zebra crossing to catch his university bus, but a bus of Suprobhat Paribahan ran over and killed him on the spot.

The case was lodged under four sections of the penal code, including that of 304, which carries up to life sentence.

In the remand appeal, Aminul mentioned that the accident took place as Sirajul was driving recklessly and involved in a race to take passengers. So, it needs to interrogate him to know the reason behind it.

Sirajul did not say anything at the court. But his lawyer told the court that it was an accident, said court sources.

Quoting Sirajul, investigation officer of the case told journalists that he had not slept the night before. So, he was not in sound mind. First, he hit a girl and sped up the bus to flee the scene. Afterwards, he ran over another passerby (Abrar). His head was crushed under the wheels of the bus. Later, traffic police arrested him.

Meanwhile, Sirajul's mother Nasima Begum and younger sister Hafiza Begum met him at Gulshan Police Station yesterday morning.

Hafiza told The Daily Star that her brother had been driving bus for the last three years. But he got the driving licence around 15 days ago.

Sirajul was enrolled in class one, but did not continue his education, she added.

According to the latest road safety act, the minimum educational qualification for a person to get driving licence is class eight. But the act is yet to be effective. 

Police said Sirajul was driving the bus with a licence for light vehicle.

Lokman Hossain Mollah, director (engineering) of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), told this correspondent that drivers could not drive this type of bus with light vehicle licence.

The BRTA on Tuesday suspended registration and route permit of the bus involved in the accident and driving licence of the driver.

Police are trying to arrest the bus helper, conductor and owner. They went into hiding, said Inspector Aminul.