Selfie attempt proves fatal for national medalist cyclist

A young cyclist from Dinajpur, who won three medals during the ongoing Sheikh Kamal 2nd Bangladesh Youth Games, died on Tuesday morning after being hit by a signal bar as he was taking selfie on a running train near Chirribbandar Railway Station in Panchagarh.

Mashrafe Hossain Maruf, the sixth semester student of Dinajpur Polytechnique Institute, had won two silver medals and a bronze medal representing Rangpur Division. He met the tragic death when returning to Dinajpur following his participation in the final phase of the games in Dhaka.

According to Bazrul Rashid, officer-in-charge of Chirribbandar Police Station, Maruf was standing near the gate of the train at around 9:00 am when he suddenly stretched out of a door of the train trying to take a selfie. His head hit the signal and he fell from the train, sustaining critical injuries. Locals then took him to upazila health complex where doctors declared him dead, police said quoting locals.

Maruf had won a silver in individual elimination and one in 2000m team time trial while winning a bronze medal in individual time scratch event. He was part of 26-member Dinajpur team taking part in the games, according to Dinajpur District Sports Association's secretary Subrata Majumder.

His death has cast a pall of gloom in Dinajpur sports community and on the games. Bangladesh Olympic Association's president and Army chief General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed and BOA's secretary general Syed Shahed Reza expressed their profound sadness at the tragic death of the young cyclist.