Bus driver held 20 days after road crash

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-12) has arrested the main accused bus driver in a case over the deaths of seven day labourers in a road accident in Bogura.

The accused, Nesarul Islam, 45, was arrested during a raid in the Dauhpara-Syedpur area of Shibganj upazila early Thursday, around 20 days after the accident.

He was later handed over to Bogura Sadar Police Station for further legal action, RAB said.
RAB-12 Bogura Company Commander Squadron Leader Firoz Ahmed confirmed the arrest in a press release issued Thursday afternoon.

According to the release, the accident occurred around 6am on August 7 in front of Erulia Government Primary School near Erulia Bazar on the Bogura-Naogaon highway.

An air-conditioned bus of Shah Fateh Ali Paribahan reportedly ran over a group of day labourers who were standing on the roadside pavement. Several people died at the scene, while others succumbed to their injuries after being taken to hospital.

A total of seven people were killed and 14 others injured in the accident.

Following the crash, the bus driver allegedly fled the scene. On August 8, a case was filed with Bogura Sadar Police Station against an unidentified bus driver.

RAB said it had been conducting intelligence operations to locate Nesarul since the accident.

Acting on a tip-off, a RAB team raided the house of a man named Rashid in the Dauhpara-Syedpur area at around 4:15am on Thursday and arrested Nesarul from there.

He was subsequently handed over to Bogura Sadar Police Station for further legal proceedings, RAB said.