Savar bus driver, helper not beaten to death by passengers: Police

Despite allegations of the driver and helper of Itihas Paribahan being beaten to death by passengers in Savar for demanding higher fares, the police have said the two did not die from beating.

They died after falling between two buses while calling for passengers, police concluded following an analysis of nearby CCTV footage.

On Monday (8 April) afternoon, Atikur Rahman, the brother of the deceased bus helper Md Hridoy, claimed his brother Hriday and the bus driver Sohel Rana (also known as Babu) were beaten to death by the passengers due to an altercation over the extra fare ahead of Eid. 

According to Atikur's statement, his brother Hridoy was fatally assaulted after requesting Tk100 from a passenger while the regular fare on the route was Tk80. 

"A group of 20-30 passengers boarded the bus from the Ashulia police station area. When the bus the Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ) area and got stuck in a traffic jam, they brutally attacked Hridoy and the bus driver  Babu.

"Both of them were declared dead upon arrival at  Sheikh Fazilatunnessa Mujib Memorial KPJ Specialized Hospital in Gazipur," Atikur said, noting that he obtained details of the incident from another bus assistant.  

However, on Tuesday (9 April) evening, Ashulia police refuted these accusations following their visit to the hospital.

Upon examining the injuries and consulting with medical professionals, they harboured suspicions that the fatalities were not solely caused by physical assault. To uncover the truth, police interrogated Abdur Rahman, who was identified as another assistant on the bus. 

Abdur Rahman initially claimed that an argument over the higher fare led to the altercation and subsequent deaths. 

Later, an eyewitness at the scene informed the investigating officers that the two were shoving each other beside the Itihas Paribahan bus at the time of the incident. Suddenly, a bus bound for the northern region passed through, sandwiching them between the buses.

"Their injuries were severe, and they were rushed to the hospital," the eyewitness recounted to the police.

Following this, Ashulia police summoned Abdur Rahman for further interrogation and obtained footage from a nearby CCTV.

During the subsequent interrogation, Abdur Rahman told police that shortly before the incident, he took over the wheels as the driver and another assistant were busy calling passengers. It was then that a bus headed to the north struck the two individuals, leading to their deaths. 

After reviewing the CCTV footage obtained from near the scene, the police have concluded that the two individuals were indeed crushed between the buses.

The footage shows a slow-moving crowd of homeward-bound people on the road in front of DEPZ. The Itihas Paribahan bus headed to Chandra was stopped on the right side of the lane. Shortly thereafter, a bus named 'Baba-Mayer Doa' passed by, and soon after, a crowd was seen at the gate of the Itihas Paribahan bus. A police officer was seen running towards the scene.