A motorcyclist was killed in Saidpur, Nilphamari, when a bus struck him and threw him onto the road. His daughter, a schoolgirl who was riding with him, was seriously injured.
The crash happened at about 2:30pm on Thursday (12 November) at the Wapda crossing on the Rangpur-Dinajpur highway.
Local people blocked the road immediately afterwards. At the time of writing (5pm) they were still holding the blockade at the scene with the body, and all traffic had been halted for nearly three hours. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on both sides. Vehicles bound for Rangpur and Dinajpur were diverted through Saidpur town, jamming the whole town.
The dead man was Ariful Islam Arif, 40, son of Mukul Hossain of Doulapara, Wapda Notunhat, and a fertiliser trader at Dhelapir Bazar. The injured schoolgirl, aged 10, is his daughter, a fifth-grade pupil.
According to initial information, Arif was bringing his daughter home from school on his motorcycle. His wife was waiting for them at the Wapda crossing, and he was to take her home as well. As he crossed the Wapda roundabout, a bus coming from the opposite direction hit the motorcycle. Arif was thrown onto the road and died at the scene.
His wife, Ruma, is an assistant teacher at Golahat Notun Kuri Bidya Niketan in the town, and the crash happened in front of her. She said a Saudia Enterprise gate-lock minibus that had left Rangpur for Dinajpur overtook a BRTC bus standing on the road, drove on the wrong side and hit the motorcycle.
The crash, only 500 yards from the family’s home, caused a stir in the area. When news of the death spread, residents blocked the road and set tyres on fire.
Police later arrived and tried to bring the situation under control, but the blockade was still going on at 5pm. Traffic on the Rangpur-Dinajpur and Saidpur-Nilphamari highways remained completely halted.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report