'Such incidents would continue if culprits go unpunished'

Oli Ullah was holding his one-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter in his arms tight while standing in the corner of a road in City Gate area near the port city yesterday morning.

This was the very place where his son, Rezaul Karim Roni, was allegedly pushed off a minibus, run over and killed following an altercation with the driver's helper just two days ago.

Oli Ullah's eyes were welled up in tears. He was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that his son is gone forever.

There was also anger in the father's eyes as it has been two days, but police were yet to arrest the driver of the minibus and his helper.

Demanding justice, Roni's family members, friends and locals formed a human chain in the area.

On the day, following an altercation apparently over bus fare, the helper allegedly pushed Roni, 35, a businessman from the same area, off the minibus. He fell down and got stuck between the road and the vehicle. As the driver drove on, Roni was crushed under the rear wheels, his relatives said, quoting witnesses.

“My wife and I returned to the country from the US to celebrate Eid with my son,” said Oli. “Not even in my worst nightmare did I think it would turn out like this.”

“We were planning to take them [Roni and his family] with us. Now, everything's ruined. His mother has fallen sick after the incident.”

“We will miss him forever…,” the father could not finish the sentence.

On Tuesday night, Roni's uncle filed a murder case against Didarul Alam, 35, driver of the minibus, and Md Manik, 32, the helper, with Akbar Shah Police Station, said Sub-inspector Dhiman Majumder, also the case's investigation officer.

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

Meanwhile, family members and friends formed another human chain in front of Chittagong Press Club in the morning.

“It was murder. Such incidents would continue if culprits go unpunished,” said Roni's cousin Shamsul Huda, member of Ward-9 of Salimpur Union Parishad in Sitakunda.

BRTA, CMP INITIATIVES

With an aim to bring discipline on the roads, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and the traffic department of Chittagong Metropolitan Police have undertaken various measures.

As per the initiatives, BRTA would conduct mobile court drives daily from today.

The government has recently approved three magistrates for BRTA Chittagong, and of them, two have joined office on Tuesday, said BRTA officials.

The office did not have any magistrate for around a year, said Mohammad Shahidullah, deputy director of BRTA Chittagong. “With the newly appointed ones, we will start the drives in full swing from tomorrow [today],” he said yesterday.

Meanwhile, a BRTA official said following the recent student movement for safe roads, some qualitative changes were brought to the office.

Earlier, there were many irregularities in issuing fitness certificates of vehicles. In many cases, certificates were given without any inspection, he alleged.

“But the situation has changed,” said the official. “Now, we photograph every public vehicle, which are given fitness certificates.”

Number of applications for learner permits has also increased in the last one month. Earlier, the number was around hundred a day; it is almost 300 now, said the deputy director.

Meanwhile, CMP's traffic department has also strengthened its monitoring on roads.

Contacted, Harun-ur-Rahsid Hazari, deputy commissioner (traffic) of CMP, said their officials are continuously checking licenses and fitness of vehicles.