Two individuals, including a schoolboy, lost their lives in separate road accidents in the Kaptai and Longadu upazilas of Rangamati on Thursday (27 November). These tragic incidents have cast a gloomy shadow over the respective local communities. One victim was a transport ticket seller in Kaptai, while the other was a teenage student in Longadu.
In Kaptai, the accident occurred around 8:00 pm on the Kaptai-Chattogram road in the Sitaghat area. The victim, identified as 45-year-old Mohammed Elias, was a ticket seller for the S. Alam bus counter at Kaptai Jetighat. According to Kaptai Police Station Officer-in-Charge Kay Kislu, Elias was walking along the road when an open luggage locker of a Dhaka-bound Saudi Paribahan bus struck him violently on the head. He sustained critical injuries and was pronounced dead while being rushed to the hospital. Although the police have seized the bus, the driver, Mohammed Mahbub, managed to flee the scene.
Meanwhile, in Longadu, an eighth-grade student named Masum Al Hasan (15) was crushed to death by a truck on Thursday evening in the Paschim Baittapara area. Eyewitnesses reported that Masum was riding his bicycle along the side of the road when a truck attempting to overtake him caused him to lose balance. He subsequently fell under the rear wheels of the vehicle. Medical officers at Longadu Sadar Hospital stated that the boy died before reaching the facility due to severe injuries to his body and jaw.
The bereaved families are in deep mourning following these sudden losses. Local residents have expressed outrage over reckless driving and the negligence of transport workers regarding vehicle safety. The police have confirmed that legal proceedings are underway for both cases and that operations are ongoing to apprehend the absconding truck driver, Mamun, and the bus driver, Mahbub. Post-mortem examinations have been arranged as part of the formal investigation.
GLIVE/TSN