Rezaul Karim

Police were yet to arrest the driver of a minibus and his helper even a day after a man was allegedly pushed off the vehicle and crushed to death on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in City Gate area near the port city.

The law enforcers said they were raiding different places of the district, including the city, to arrest the duo. 

“We have already identified the driver and the helper  ... the driver is Md Dider, 35, of Sitakunda upazila, and the helper is Manik, 32,” said Jashim Uddin, officer-in-charge of Akbar Shah Police Station.

Following an altercation apparently over bus fare, the helper allegedly pushed Rezaul Karim Roni, 35, a businessman from City Gate area, off the minibus on Monday. As Roni fell down, he got stuck between the road and the vehicle. As the driver drove on, Roni was crushed under the rear wheels, Roni's relatives said, quoting witnesses.

Although other passengers repeatedly asked the driver to stop, he kept driving, dragging Roni yards on the street and leaving him critically injured, they said.

Roni was rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) where he was declared dead around 2:00pm.

The passengers tried to catch the driver and the helper, but the two got off and fled. On information, police seized the bus.

As the news spread, angry locals, terming the incident murder, barricaded the highway in City Gate area for nearly an hour, demanding immediate arrest and punishment of the driver and the helper.

Later that night, the owner of the Lusai Paribahan bus, Md Shahabuddin, went to Akbar Shah Police Station and showed the law enforcers the minibus' route permit for operating between Bhatiary and New Market area of the city, as well as the fitness certificate, said the OC.

Asked, he said they were not sure whether Monday's incident was a killing or just an accident.  

“The family members of the victim were yet to file a case in this connection. Besides, we have not yet got any witnesses,” Jashim said.

Roni's cousin Shamsul Huda, member of Ward-9 of Salimpur Union Parishad in Sitakunda, said they were yet to file any case as they were busy with Roni's burial.

Roni was buried in Kalirhat near City Gate area yesterday evening following an autopsy at Chittagong Medical College, said Shamsul. 

“We will definitely file a case against the driver and the helper for killing Roni by driving the vehicle over him,” he said.

FAMILY SHELL-SHOCKED

Roni's parents, who live in the US and returned to the country some 15 days ago to celebrate Eid, and his wife Razia Sultana Shanta were struggling to come to terms with the fact that Roni would never come back.

Roni's father Oli Ullah has stopped talking after he heard the tragic news of his son's death.

Holding her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Saba in her arms, Razia said her husband had gone to Bhatiary to meet one of his relatives. He met his tragic end while returning home.

The family members demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits.