Autorickshaw driver drags policeman for 1km after asking to stop
The autorickshaw driver – Joni Ahmed, 24, son of Md Ahmed Ali, a resident of Hobir Bari village in Bhaluka upazila - has been detained
A police constable was dragged by an autorickshaw driver for around a kilometre after the policeman had signalled the vehicle to stop at Joina Bazar in Sreepur of Gazipur on Wednesday (19 February).
The autorickshaw driver – Joni Ahmed, 24, son of Md Ahmed Ali, a resident of Hobir Bari village in Bhaluka upazila - has been detained, Gazipur Police Superintendent AKM Akhteruzzaman Bosunia confirmed to The Business Standard.
The victim policeman has been identified as Kamal Das, a constable at the Mawna Highway Police Station.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
A video, taken by a passenger of the autorickshaw, of the incident has gone viral on social media.
The 3-minute video shows Kamal Das hanging from the side of the autorickshaw. He can be seen holding on to the right side of the vehicle as the driver continues to drive it at high speed on a busy road.
Several passengers of the autorickshaw can be heard asking the driver to stop but he refuses to listen.
"Brother, stop. The man will die. Please stop the car," the passengers can be heard saying.
The driver finally stopped after crossing one kilometre, when he was detained by the passengers and Constable Kamal Das.
Speaking about the incident, Das said, "As part of the regular campaign against illegal autorickshaws on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, an operation was underway in the Joina Bazar area of Sreepur today (Wednesday). At that time, an autorickshaw carrying passengers was violating the ban on the highway. I gave a signal to stop it.
"Seeing the signal and trying to take the key, the autorickshaw driver immediately started driving at a high speed. I tried to get into the autorickshaw, but the driver increased its speed. Then I hung on the autorickshaw to save my life. When I requested the driver to stop, he instead increased the speed and tried to throw me. I was dragged for at least one kilometre."
The passengers in the autorickshaw also requested him, but he did not stop, Das also said.
"His [the driver] intention was to escape with the autorickshaw even if he had to run me over. But I was finally able to arrest him at the risk of my life. Perhaps a passenger of the autorickshaw recorded the video on his mobile phone at that time," he added.
Gazipur SP Bosunia said the autorickshaw driver has been detained.
"The vehicle has also been seized. The constable has been sent to a hospital for treatment. The legal process is underway over the incident," he added.
