20150115 Bangladesh Helper dies in bus burning
Bangladesh Jan 15 2015 “Other”
Dead : dead 1 to 4 Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 1 to 9
Helper dies in bus burning
Updated: 2015-01-15-09:21
The helper of a driver was burnt to death when a bus was set on fire in Gazipur amid BNP’s nationwide blockade.
The victim, Tofazzal Hossain, 17, was sleeping in the bus.
Kaliakair police OC Md Rafiqul Islam said the violence was reported from Gazipur’s Kaliakair on Dhaka-Tangail highway around 3:30am on Thursday.
Police recovered the charred body and sent it to Gazipur Sadar Hospital, he said.
OC Islam said Selim Mia, driver of the bus, parked the bus beside his home on the highway at night and went to sleep there after driving throughout the day. His helper Tofazzal closed the doors of the bus and fell asleep inside the vehicle.
The police and fire service rushed to the spot after locals informed them of the bus being on fire.
After dousing the flames they saw Tofazzal’s body lying near the door of the bus.
“We think Tofazzal tried to get out of the bus after it was set on fire. But as the smoke blinded him he couldn’t open the door and died there,” the OC said.
The driver, Selim, said he parked the bus at Bottala area around 2:30am.
The owner of the bus, Khandaker Madizur Rahman, president of a labour association in the Upazila, thinks his bus was set on fire after he delivered a speech the previous day against strikes and sabotage.
The bus was used for carrying labourers to different factories.
Cases of arson have been frequent across the country since the BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia called for a non-stop nationwide blockade on Jan 5.
Pro-blockade supports set fire to another bus carrying passengers the night before in Rangpur’s Mithapukur. Five persons have died in that fire so far. Other victims, who suffered severe burns, are still under treatment in different hospitals.
Another helper of a bus was burnt alive on the second day of the BNP- sponsored blockade. He died five days later at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital while under treatment.
Meanwhile, the BNP called for a nationwide strike for Thursday protesting the attack on Khaleda’s Adviser Reaz Rahman.
Although vehicular movement in the capital was almost normal during the days of the blockade, traffic was thinner on the morning of the strike.
Web Source: Bdnews24.com
http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2015/01/15/helper-dies-in-bus-burning