Locals set BRTC bus ablaze after father, son killed in Chattogram road crash

A father and his son were killed after a BRTC bus rammed into their motorcycle in Chattogram’s Fatikchhari upazila on Monday morning (June 1), triggering protests by locals who later set the bus on fire.

The accident took place around 9:00am in the Amtal area of Paindong Union on the Chattogram-Khagrachhari regional highway.

The deceased were identified as Mohammad Shahjahan, 45, and his son Mohammad Arif, 22, residents of Ward No. 2 of the same union.

According to witnesses, the BRTC bus was travelling from Khagrachhari towards Chattogram at high speed when it first struck two CNG-run auto-rickshaws and pushed them off the road. Moments later, the bus crashed into a motorcycle from behind, dragging it underneath the vehicle, killing the father and son on the spot.

The fatal crash sparked outrage among local residents, who set the bus ablaze and blocked access to the accident site. Traffic on the highway remained disrupted for nearly two hours before police and joint forces brought the situation under control and restored vehicular movement.

Confirming the incident, Fatikchhari Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Robiul Alam Khan said law enforcers quickly responded to the scene, extinguished the fire and removed the damaged vehicles from the highway.

He added that the bus driver was detained shortly after the incident and legal proceedings are underway under the Road Transport Act.