Summary:
- Six people, including four family members, were killed when a Bepari Paribahan bus crashed at Dhaleshwari Toll Plaza on Dhaka-Mawa expressway, leading to the arrest of both the bus owner W Bepari and driver Nurunnabi.
- The bus, which had no fitness certificate and was taken from the garage just one day before the accident, first hit a car, then a microbus, and finally crushed a motorcycle at the toll plaza.
- The driver was operating with an expired license for two years and claimed brake failure caused the accident, though investigations are ongoing after being arrested from Narayanganj’s Siddhirganj.
- Three victims died on the spot while three others succumbed to injuries during transport to Dhaka, prompting a case filing at South Keraniganj Police Station by victim’s family member Nurul Amin.
Both the owner and driver of a Bepari Paribahan bus involved in a fatal crash that killed six people at the Dhaleshwari Toll Plaza have been arrested by authorities. The tragic incident occurred on Friday morning on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway.
The bus owner, W Bepari, was apprehended around 12:30 AM on December 29 in Madaripur’s Shibchar area. The driver, Mohammad Nuruddin, was earlier arrested from Narayanganj’s Siddhirganj at midnight following the accident.
The devastating crash claimed the lives of six individuals, including four members of the same family. The victims were identified as Amena Haque (45), her daughters Emy (27) and Riya (12), her grandson Ayat (2), along with Reshma and her child, who were on a motorcycle.
“The bus had no fitness certificate and was taken out of the garage just a day before the accident,” stated AKM Akhtaruzzaman Bosunia, superintendent of police for the Highway Police’s Gazipur region.
According to RAB-10 Senior Assistant Superintendent Tapash Karmakar, the driver was operating the vehicle with an expired license. “He claimed he wanted to stop the vehicle, but the brakes were not working. The engine shut off after the crash,” Karmakar reported.
CCTV footage revealed that the Kuakata-bound bus first struck a stationary car at the toll plaza around 11:06 AM, before colliding with a microbus and ultimately crushing a motorcycle. Three victims died instantly at the scene, while the others succumbed to their injuries during transport to Dhaka and at the hospital.
This incident marks the eighth fatal accident on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway in the past week alone, adding to the growing concern over road safety in Bangladesh. Recent data shows that the country has lost over 35,000 lives to road accidents in the past five and a half years, with financial losses estimated at Tk 880 billion.
A case has been filed at the South Keraniganj Police Station by Nurul Amin, brother of one of the deceased victims. Both the bus owner and driver remain in custody as investigations continue into this tragic incident that has once again highlighted the pressing issue of road safety in Bangladesh.
Source: TBS News
