2 killed after being 'pushed off' moving bus in Rangpur

Two passengers were killed and another injured as a supervisor and helper allegedly pushed them off the bus in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur following a fare dispute this morning.

According to the police, the incident took place close to Jigartal around 8:30am.

"We have seized the bus. However, the driver, helper and conductor are absconding. Operations are underway to identify and arrest them," Taraganj Highway Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mostafizur Rahman said.

Police recovered the bodies and sent them to the morgue of Rangpur Medical College Hospital for autopsies, he added.

He also said preparations are underway to file a case.

The deceased were identified as Mukul Mia, 30 and Shakil Islam, 28; both residents of Charai Khola village in Nilphamari Sadar upazila and worked as construction workers in Cumilla.

The injured passenger, Atikul Islam, 30, is also from the same village.

According to Atikul, witnesses and locals, the three were travelling from Cumilla to Jaldhaka in Nilphamari on a night coach of Saimum Paribahan.

When the bus reached Jigartal around 8:30am, an argument broke out between Mukul and Shakil, and the supervisor and helper over the fare. The dispute soon escalated, and the bus crew allegedly pushed all three passengers off the moving bus.

The passengers sustained serious injuries, and Mukul and Shakil died at the scene, they said.

Locals rescued Atikul and took him to Taraganj Upazila Health Complex.

Protesting the incident, local residents blocked the Rangpur-Saidpur highway, demanding immediate arrest of the bus driver, supervisor and helper and exemplary punishment. They withdrew the blockade after police assured them of necessary action.