Worker dies after being run over by car in Baridhara: Another person named as accused in case despite teenager in driver’s seat

A private car ran over construction worker Mehedi Hasan, 24, who was sitting on the footpath in Baridhara of the capital. He died on the spot after being crushed under the wheels of the car. After the accident people present arrested a teenager who was in the driver’s seat of the car and handed him over to the police. Although police took him into custody and interrogated him, he was later released in the custody of his uncle.

In the case filed over this incident the name of that teenager has not been mentioned as an accused. A person named Akash Mark, 44, has been made the accused as the driver of the car in the case. Police said Akash has been absconding since the incident.

As a result questions have arisen over who was driving the car at the time of the accident and why the teenager in the driver’s seat was not made an accused in the case even after being arrested.

The accident took place on the footpath of Road No 1 of Baridhara Diplomatic Zone of the capital around 5pm on Tuesday (September 22). The home of the deceased Mehedi Hasan is in Sonaray village under Domar upazila of Nilphamari.

It has been learnt from eyewitnesses and police sources that Mehedi was resting sitting on the footpath in the afternoon. At that time a high-speed private car lost control, climbed onto the footpath and ran over him. People from the surrounding area rushed and rescued Mehedi from under the car. Later when he was taken to Kurmitola General Hospital the doctor declared him dead.

In this incident Mehedi’s elder brother Moktadir Islam, 28, filed a case under the Road Transport Act at Gulshan Police Station as the complainant. Attempts were made to contact the complainant Moktadir Islam for his statement on the matter of not mentioning the name of the teenager in the case but his mobile phone was found switched off.

After the accident people present at the scene arrested a teenager who was in the driver’s seat of the car and handed him over to the police. Later police also took him into custody.

Police said the teenager was taken into custody so that he does not become a ‘victim of mob’ at the hands of the angry public. Later after the end of interrogation he was released in the custody of his uncle at night.

It has been learnt from Gulshan thana police sources that the teenager is an ‘O’ Level student of an English medium school in Gulshan of Dhaka. His father Abbas Ali Sharif is a captain of Biman Bangladesh Airlines. The private car used in the accident is registered in the name of his mother.

The matter of the teenager being in the driver’s seat of the car has also been seen in a CCTV footage of the accident. Later the footage spread on social media.

In the video it is seen that after running over Mehedi who was sitting on the footpath the private car hits a street light pole and stops. After that two persons come out of the car.

The teenager wearing a black T-shirt is seen getting down from the right side of the car, that is the driver’s seat. A middle-aged person wearing a shirt comes out from the other side of the car. When people from the surrounding area rush to the scene both stay beside the car. At one stage the teenager is seen moving away from there.

Later local people arrested him and handed him over to the police. However, his name is not in the case filed over the accident incident.

It has been said in the FIR of the case that the driver of the car Akash Mark, 44, ran over Mehedi by driving the car at a reckless speed. In this he sustained serious injuries to his head, chest and back and died on the spot.

Police informed that Akash Mark has been absconding since the incident. The private car has been seized after the accident. Police said if the involvement of that teenager is found he will be arrested.

Inspector (Investigation) of Gulshan Police Station Ismail Hossain said, “The elder brother of the deceased Mehedi has filed the case mentioning the name of the driver of the car Akash Mark. The name of that teenager has not been mentioned in the case. For this reason he has been released after the end of interrogation. If involvement is found by analysing the footage he will be arrested.”