Jamaat activist gets run over by bus while trying to clear way for party chief’s convoy stuck in traffic jam
Police have seized the Tisha Paribahan bus in connection with the incident
Jasim Uddin, 53, a Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami activist, was run over by a bus while attempting to clear the way for the convoy of the party's chief Dr Shafiqur Rahman, which was stuck in traffic in Cumilla's Lalmai, yesterday (21 February).
The accident took place in the Syedpur area of the Cumilla-Noakhali regional highway at around 7pm.
Witnesses said Shafiqur's convoy, consisting of four vehicles, got stuck in traffic at Bagmara North Bazaar while on their way to a Jamaat rally in Lakshmipur.
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At the time, local Jamaat leaders and activists were managing traffic to normalise the flow of vehicles. A bus of Tisha Paribahan, heading towards Dhaka, hit Jasim Uddin, crushing his head and killing him on the spot.
Police seized the Tisha Paribahan bus over the incident, and Jasim's body was taken home by his family, said Mohammad Shah Alam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Lalmai Police Station.
"Since no complaint was filed, permission has been granted for the burial of the body," he added.
Imam Hossain, secretary of Jamaat's Lalmai Upazila unit, said the convoy of the party chief got stuck in traffic at Bagmara North Bazaar on the way to Lakshmipur.
"At that time, 10 to 15 leaders and activists, including me, were temporarily managing traffic to normalise the flow of vehicles. At one point, Jasim Uddin was killed after being hit by a bus," he added.
A local trader, Mofizul Islam Munna, said the Bagmara Bazaar section of the Cumilla-Noakhali regional highway remains two lanes due to land acquisition complications even though the rest has been expanded to four lanes.
"As a result, this part of the road experiences traffic congestion around the clock. Such a death might have been avoided if the police had been managing the traffic," he added.
