‘We want safe road’

Like every morning, Nayeem Hasan, a Humanities student, yesterday said goodbye to his parents and headed out for classes at Notre Dame College. That turned out to be the last time he had stepped out of his Kamrangirchar home, his final goodbye to his parents.

"Why did I send my son to college today?" an inconsolable Shah Alam, Hasan's father, told the gathered media personnel at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Around 11:30 am, while crossing the road in front of the Gulistan Hall Market, a compactor vehicle of the Dhaka South City Corporation rammed into Hasan, a second-year student.

While he was rushed to the DMCH, the thrust of the vehicle was too much for the 17-year-old. Doctors declared him dead around 12:15 pm, according to Salahuddin Mia, officer-in-charge of Paltan Police Station.

"Reckless driving took his life," said Alam, a bookstore proprietor at Nilkhet.

Police seized the vehicle and detained its driver Russel Khan from the spot.

As the word spread of Hasan's accident, students of Notre Dame College combusted into a street protest demanding justice.

They thronged to the Nagar Bhaban and attempted to enter the compound but failed. Later, they blocked the road in Gulistan where Hasan died.

"We want justice. We want to live. We want safe roads," they chanted. There were placards with the same slogans, while some inscribed the demands in their clothes.

Meanwhile, the DSCC formed a three-member committee headed by its Chief Waste Management Officer to determine how the accident took place and identify those responsible and make recommendations for averting such accidents in future.

The committee has been asked to submit the report within seven working days. It will also provide recommendations to avoid any accidents in future.

Hasan's body was sent to DMCH morgue for autopsy.