No VIP exception: Minister Millat's car takes the wrong lane, faces two cases

Police filed two cases against a vehicle carrying Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashiduzzaman Millat after it was found driving on the wrong side of Circuit House Road in Dhaka today (3 September).

A senior official of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's traffic division said the vehicle, a Range Rover, was stopped by traffic police at around 9:08am while it was heading towards the Secretariat on the wrong side of the road.

The driver, Arif Hossain, was sued for reckless driving, the official said. "Police imposed Tk3,000 fines for each of the two offences, totalling Tk6,000."

According to traffic officials, the vehicle belongs to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, and Minister Rashiduzzaman Millat was inside when it was stopped.

Officials described the action as unprecedented, saying they could not recall any previous instance in Bangladesh where a case had been filed against a minister's vehicle for driving against traffic.

There have previously been reports of vehicles carrying ministers driving on the wrong side of roads to avoid congestion or reach destinations quickly, but such incidents had not resulted in cases.

The incident drew attention at the Secretariat, particularly as the prime minister's motorcade was travelling towards the Secretariat on an adjacent road at the time.

A senior government official told The Business Standard that the action demonstrated that traffic rules should apply equally to all, regardless of the status of passengers in a vehicle.

The official further said the prime minister's motorcade has been following traffic rules and signals while travelling through congested roads, and the case against the minister's vehicle should serve as a message to other senior officials.