Photo: Collected
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has detained the driver of the bus that crushed a car, ran over a motorcycle and rear-ended a microbus at the Dhaleshwari toll plaza, on the Dhaka-Mawa expressway, in Keraniganj yesterday (27 December) and killed six people.
Driver Md Nurunnabi was held by RAB-10 from the Siddhirganj area of Narayanganj during a drive last night, according to a statement issued by the force's legal and media wing today. Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Tapas Karmakar of RAB-10 confirmed that they arrested only one person, Nurunnabi, during the raid at Siddhirganj.
Asked whether the driver was intoxicated when he was driving the bus, Tapas said Nurunnabi admitted to occasionally drinking or smoking marijuana but claimed he was not under the influence of drugs at the time. The driver also claimed he tried to slow down and stop the bus as it was approaching the toll plaza, but the brakes did not work, said the RAB official.
Nurunnabi, who has been driving buses, trucks, and pickups for the past 10 years, has had no valid driving licence for the last two years, said Tapas. The Bepari Paribahan bus, which runs on the Dhaka-Kuakata route, has no fitness certificate as well, he added.
"Highway police may have detained another person, but we can't confirm that yet," he added.
However, highway police's Gazipur region Additional Deputy Inspector General AKM Akhtaruzzaman Bosunia confirmed that two people were detained but he did not say when they were taken into custody.
"They are being interrogated right now. It is suspected that the bus was out of control, but we'll be able to determine the reason after investigating," he said.
"We learned that the bus had two staff at the time of the incident and the driver's name is Nurunnabi. Two people have been detained in a joint drive by highway police and RAB. Their identities are being verified now. Details will be shared after verification," said the official.
Meanwhile, no case was filed over the incident until this afternoon, Hashara highway police station Officer-in-Charge Abdul Quader Jilani told. He said the bus was still at their station under Munshiganj's Sreenagar. "We are investigating why the incident occurred."
"The victims' family may file a case. We'll confirm when it's registered. The matter is under process," he said. Akhtaruzzaman added, "Case will be filed against not just the bus driver but everyone responsible for the incident."
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