The man, who was driving the truck that turned turtle into a ditch in Mirsarai killing so many children Monday, was a farmer most of his life and he did not even have a driving licence.
Mofiz, in his late 40’s, was a helper to the driver of the vehicle owned by Haji Rice Mill.
“He [Mofiz] was not allowed to drive on highways or go on long drives as he is not the driver. He drives the vehicle when we need to take something not very far away,”
said Habib, head operator of the rice mill.
It was Mofiz’s sheer recklessness and irresponsibility that the truck fell into the ditch and killed the children, he said.
Locals said Mofiz had been working as the helper for the last seven years. Three years ago he started sitting at the wheel, taking the truck to places close by.
A farmer most of his life, Mofiz completed only primary education. He went to Kuwait three years after the second Gulf War but returned home failing to make it there.
“Then he managed to get a forged licence for Tk 6,000-7,000,” Harun-Ar-Rashid, brother-in-law of Mofiz, said when The Daily Star visited his house in Mayani union.
Father of three sons and a daughter, Mofiz left home around 9:00am Monday and was on duty as the driver since the actual driver was unavailable.
“Actually, Mofiz was due to go to Shovurpur in Feni to bring some rice for the mill in the morning. But local leaders and teachers of Abu Torab Government Primary School insisted on his taking the kids to the match. They said they’d be able to return by noon,” said Habib the mill operator.
The Daily Star learnt that Jahir Uddin, chairman of Abu Torab Government Primary School managing committee, also a popular Awami League activist, hired the truck for only Tk 200 to take the students to the football match at a stadium in Mirsarai.
On their way back when the truck flipped over into the muddy water of the ditch, Mofiz got out of the cabin through the window.
“I begged the driver to stay and help me save lives,” said Mohammad Alamgir, the survivor who rescued many of the victims. Mofiz did not listen and made a run for life.
Alamgir said Mofiz narrowly averted accidents twice before in that trip. He did not listen when the children begged him to drive slowly.
A nephew of Mofiz, Shakhawat Hossain Nayan, a student of class-V, also died in the accident.
Meanwhile, police said they are hunting down Mofiz.
PROBE TEAM VISIT
The three-member probe body formed to investigate Monday’s tragic accident at Mirsarai visited the spot yesterday afternoon, reports our staff correspondent in Chittagong.
The committee led by its convener Ibne Alam Hasan, additional chief engineer of Roads and Highways Department (RHD) Chittagong zone, reached the spot around 5.00pm. The team then visited a victim’s family at Saidaly village and talked to the family.
Later, they visited Abu Torab Bahumukhi High School to talk to teachers and locals.
Before leaving, Ibne Alam Hasan told journalists that the committee would submit its report within a week.
Meanwhile, a five-member monitoring committee, headed by chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), accompanied the probe body to the spot.
Committee chief and BRTA Chairman Ayubur Rahman Khan told reporters that they would propose strengthening the laws on talking on mobile phones while driving. He said they are going to take stern action against reckless driving soon.
He claimed that law enforcement agencies have been directed to take steps against drivers without valid driving licences and vehicles without fitness certificates
-With The Daily Star input
