Concrete block fall kills one, injures four in Kishoreganj

A youth was killed and four persons were injured when a chunk of concrete fell on them during an eviction drive conducted by Bangladesh Railway (BR) in Sararchar station area of Kishoreganj yesterday.

Authorities said the five gathered in the area just to see the drive.

The deceased -- Nimai Chandra Banik (25) -- was from Uttar Sararchar in the district's Bajitpur upazila. He was declared dead at Jahurul Islam Medical College Hospital, according to police.

The injured -- Antor Saha (18), Rubel Mia (24), Kamal Mia (37) and Siam Al Sadi -- who are from adjacent villages -- were taken to Bajitpur Upazila Health Complex, said Bajitpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Khalilur Rahman Patwary.

Of them, Rubel was referred to Dhaka as his condition deteriorated, said the OC.

BR started the eviction drive against illegal structures on its land around 9am.

"As soon as the accident occurred around noon, we postponed the operation," said Md Nazrul Islam, estate officer of BR, who led the drive.

When asked whether they ensured that there was no people inside or around the illegal structures before the action, the BR official said, "We repeatedly asked people or onlookers through a loudspeaker to move to safety."

The drive started when there was no one on the spot. "The victims came to the spot all of a sudden while the buildings were being demolished," said Nazrul Islam.

The official said they gave Tk 20,000 to the deceased's family and Tk 5,000 each to other victims' families, he said.

"We are planning to allocate shops to the victims, which will be set up on the BR land on completion of the drive," he added.

The official said they were able to demolish around 120 structures till the postponement.