A head-on collision between a passenger auto-rickshaw and an unidentified pick-up truck along a busy regional highway on Sunday afternoon left an elderly man dead and two women seriously injured.
The tragedy occurred at approximately 1:45 PM within the municipal limits of Kaliganj upazila, specifically near the Bagher Para area along the Tongi-Ghorashal regional highway. The deceased was identified as sixty-five-year-old Md Hafiz Sheikh, a resident of Bahaduroradi village within the same upazila and the son of Abdul Kadir.
According to eyewitness accounts and local law enforcement officers, Hafiz Sheikh was returning home from Mirer Bazar aboard a three-wheeler passenger auto-rickshaw. As the vehicle negotiated the stretch at Bagher Para, an oncoming pick-up truck careened into it with violent force. The severe impact tossed the passengers onto the roadside tarmac. Both the rogue pick-up truck and the auto-rickshaw vanished into traffic before bystanders could intervene or detain the drivers.
Emergency services and local police rushed to the site following distress calls from witnesses. First responders discovered Hafiz Sheikh dead at the scene, while two female passengers lay nearby with critical injuries. Personnel from the Kaliganj Fire Service and local police secured the area, recovered the victim’s body into official custody, and rushed the two wounded women to the Kaliganj Upazila Health Complex for urgent medical treatment. The identities and immediate medical conditions of the two injured women were not immediately available.
Sub-Inspector Jabed of Kaliganj Police Station confirmed the casualties to journalists, stating that both involved vehicles managed to flee following the impact. Officers have taken custody of the deceased for procedural formalities, and formal legal steps are underway. Investigators are currently working to identify the fleeing drivers and ascertain the exact circumstances surrounding the collision. Regional highways across the outskirts of industrial zones frequently experience heavy mixed traffic, heightening the risks of speeding and reckless driving for commuters travelling in smaller passenger vehicles.
