Six junior school certificate examinees were killed in a road traffic accident on their way to an examination centre in Shibganj upazila of Bogra district on Monday.
The accident took place on Bogra-Rangpur highway near Kashipur around 12:45pm when a Rangpur-bound bus coming from Bogra rammed a human hauler carrying JSC examinees.
All the victims of the tragic incident were residents of Syedpur village. Of them five were students of Syedpur Boys High School while the other was a madrassah student.
The driver of the human hauler, Shahjahan Ali, was also killed in the accident which left five other students injured. The driver of the bus and his assistants fled the spot after the accident.
Gloom descended on Syedpur and surrounding villages as the news of the incident reached there.
The deceased were identified as Mashkurul Alam, son of Mohammad Bisha, Faridul Islam, son of Nazrul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman Liton, son Yusuf Ali, Shariful Islam, son of Shahidul Islam and Farakul Islam, son of Ershadul Haque. The JDC student was identified as Dilwar Hossain, son of Abdul Hamid.
The injured were identified as JSC examinees Mahmud Hussain, Golam Kibria, Rezanur Rahman Rony and Mahmud’s father Shafiqul Hussain. They were taken to Shaheed Zia Medical College Hospital at Bogra from where Golam Kibria was shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital as his condition deteriorated.
Guardians of the deceased said that they had reserved the three-wheeler to carry the JSC and JDC examinees of Syedpur and three other villages to their examination centre at Mokamtala High School.
Witnesses said that a Rangpur-bound bus of Paradise Paribahan hit the three-wheeler carrying 11 persons, leaving three dead on the spot. Four others died at Shaheed Zia Medical College Hospital.
Locals took to the streets as the news of the accident reached the village. They blocked traffic on the highway and attacked vehicles, including the killer bus. Police seized the bus bearing number Raj-Metro-Ja-11-0040. A case was filed in this connection.
Abdur Rouf, assistant superintendent of highway police (western zone), said that police had arrived at the spot and tackled the situation.
According to government statistics, 12 people die in road accidents on an average everyday, totaling 5,000 every year, but unofficial sources put the figures at 12,000.
Shamsul Alam, director of the Accident Research Institute at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, said the government studies were based on police reports and reports, leaving many incidents unrecorded.
