An eight-year-old schoolboy was killed after being struck by a covered van in Tongi, Gazipur, on Monday morning.
The victim, identified as Rabbi, was hit in the New Bazar area of the Ghorshal-Kaliganj Road at around 10.30am on 14 September. He was a second-year student at Railway Shishu Bidyaniketan and lived with his family in the Banker Math slum area of Tongi.
According to police, Rabbi was returning home after school when the accident occurred. A covered van struck him in the New Bazar area, leaving the child critically injured.
Local people rushed to his aid after the collision and took him to Tongi Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital. However, doctors on duty examined the child and declared him dead.
The incident has caused distress among the victim’s family and people in the surrounding area. Rabbi was returning from school when the collision occurred, turning what would ordinarily have been a routine journey home into a fatal accident.
Police said the circumstances surrounding the collision were being examined. The vehicle involved has been seized and its driver, identified as 27-year-old Russel, has been detained.
Mohammad Maksudul Alam, officer-in-charge of Tongi East Police Station, confirmed the seizure of the covered van and the driver’s detention. He said legal proceedings were under way in connection with the incident.
The accident has also drawn attention to the risks faced by children travelling along busy roads, particularly around areas where pedestrians and vehicles share limited road space. Schoolchildren are especially vulnerable because of their age and limited ability to judge the speed and distance of approaching vehicles.
For families, the journey between school and home is an everyday part of a child’s routine. A serious road collision can, however, turn that routine into tragedy within seconds. The death of Rabbi has left his family facing an irreparable loss, while the ongoing investigation is expected to establish precisely how the crash occurred and determine the appropriate legal action.
