Untimely death of a dream
She lost her mother at six.
Life was hard but she never gave up. In time, she finished her graduation with outstanding results.
The girl, Puja Sarkar, finally became a scientist at Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.
Around two years ago, she started her new journey after tying the knot with Tanmoy Majumder, a doctor. They were expecting a baby soon.
"But everything has been taken away in a minute," said Puja's father Amal Sarker.
Puja is one of the three young scientists of BAEC who died in a tragic accident in Savar on Sunday. The driver of the bus they were in also died.
"As my daughter was deprived of the love and care of her mother, she struggled hard to reach this stage of her career. We are speechless," he told The Daily Star last evening.
Puja's uncle Subrata Nandy, who lives in Canada, wrote a heart-wrenching piece titled "It is just an untimely death of a dream" on Facebook.
The accident happened after the driver of a Safe Line Paribahan bus lost control and hit a staff bus of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission on Dhaka-Aricha highway on Sunday morning.
The Safe Line Paribahan bus did not have route permit, and its fitness certificate and tax token expired in 2014 and 2015 respectively, said Sajjad-Ur-Rahman, inspector of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority's (BRTA) Savar office, yesterday.
A case has been filed against the driver, who fled the scene after the accident and is yet to be identified.
Police are working to identify the driver and the owner of the bus, said Golam Mostafa, inspector of Savar Highway Police Station.
Contacted, Safe Line Paribahan's Gabtoli counter manager Jahangir Alam said they had suspended business ties with the bus a few days ago as they were incurring losses.
He said the bus used to ply Dhaka-Benapole route under the banner of Safe Line Paribahan. But it did not have a fitness certificate. That is why, Safe Line Paribahan cut all business relationships with the bus on May 26.
Over the last few days, the bus was running under the banner of another transport group on Dhaka-Kushtia route, he claimed.
However, The Daily Star found the name Safe Line Paribahan on the bus.
Jahangir said a transport businessman named Iqbal owns the bus. Iqbal could not be contacted by phone despite repeated attempts.
The bus was registered in the name of Exim Bank, said Sajjad-Ur-Rahman, the BRTA inspector.
Contacted, Exim Bank's transport division head, Kazi Nesar Uddin, said the bank does not have any bus. The bus owner might have bought the bus taking a loan from the bank.