7 killed in road accident

At least seven people, including three children on their way to a wedding party, were killed and 10 others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a microbus on the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway at Sonaimorirtak of Shibpur in Narsingdi on Tuesday morning. 
Besides, the death of a college girl in a road accident at Ashashuni in Satkhira sparked protests in the southern district.
The New Age Correspondent in Narsingdi quoting Shibpur police station-officer-in charge, Abul Kalam Azad, reported that a Sylhet-bound bus of Mitali 
Paribahan from Dhaka collided head-on with a microbus carrying wedding party guests at Sonaimorirtak at about 7:30am. 
The victims were going to Matlab in Chandpur from Raipura in Narsingdi.
The accident left three passengers dead on the spot and 14 others injured.
Hearing victims scream, locals rushed to the spot, and dragged out the injured from badly smashed microbus and from the bus, police said.
Within minutes, the highway police as well as the fire fighters turned up and took the injured, including the newlywed couple, to Narsingdi Sadar Hospital, the police said.
Four more victims died on the way to the hospital.
The deceased were Sujan Barman, 35, his wife Mitali Borman, 25, Sinigda, 7, Prantika, 6, Bristy, 6, Shaurav Barman, 22, and another man whose identity could not be known until 8:00pm.
Of the 10 injured, three people including the new couple, were shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in a serious condition for better treatment, sources in the hospital said.
Police seized both the bus and microbus, but the drivers managed to flee away, police said, adding that a case was lodged with the Shibpur Police Station to that end. 
Inspector Md Hafizur Rahman of Itakhola Highway Police told New Age that the bus driver lost control after one of its front tyres had punctures.
In Satkhira, villagers and schoolchildren caught a truck driver and his assistant, beat them and demonstrated at Hajipur area of Ashashuni as the truck run over and killed a 13-year-old schoolgirl in the morning.
The deceased was Priti Moni Swarnaker, daughter of Parimal Swarnakar of Katakhali village of the upazila, who is also a Class VII student of Badartala High School, said Ashashuni Police Station officer-in-charge Biplab Kumar Debnath.
He said the truck carrying cement bags ran over the schoolgirl as she was walking to her school.
The villagers and school children, angered by the accident, started protests on the road, said the OC. 
As the police arrived at the spot and tried to take the driver and his assistant in custody, the angry people chased cops.
The police, however, brought the situation under control after giving assurance of exemplary punishment of the transport workers. 
The villagers later handed the duo over to police, said OC Biplab, adding that they were admitted to hospital.
With the death of schoolgirl in Sathkhira, at least 11 school and college students were killed in road accidents across the country after the July 29 Kurmitola accident in Dhaka, which killed two students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College and injured 12 others as a bus competing with another one, ploughed through a crowd of students waiting for transports. 
The reckless driving continued to kill people although thousands of students took to streets after the Kurmitola accident and protested against road transport sector anarchy for nine days prompting the government to launch traffic week on August 5 to restore discipline to the sector.
The police headquarters later on August 11 extended the programme until August 14 as anarchy returned to roads immediately after the end of the protests amidst police actions and attacks by Awami League activists on the protesters. 

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net