Bus knocks man dead at Shahbagh

A man was killed after being hit by a bus in the capital's Shahbagh area yesterday morning.

Omar Faruk, 50, driver of a Birdem doctor, was knocked down around 11:00am by the bus while he was helping his wife, Manuja Begum, disembark from another bus that had stopped in the middle of the road.

Sub-Inspector (SI) Bachchu Miah, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost, told The Daily Star that Faruk ran towards a bus in front of Birdem Hospital to help his wife get off.

He was supposed to take her to Birdem to see an ophthalmologist, the official said, adding that the couple had come to Dhaka for Manuja's treatment.

Manuja's sister Swapna Begum said Faruk and his wife came to her residence at Jatrabari early yesterday. Faruk left for Birdem before them, while Manuja and Swapna were going to the hospital by bus.

When their bus slowed down in the middle of the road near Shahbag flower market, Faruk ran to the bus to help Swapna and Manuja get off when another bus came and hit him.

Faruk received a head injury from being hit.

Eyewitness Raju Islam, who works at a roadside food stall, said when Faruk was going towards the bus, the other bus hit him and sped away. Some people chased it down towards Elephant road.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Shahbag Police Station Abul Hasan said after receiving information, the bus was seized when it was at Science Laboratory, on its way from Jatrabari to Mohammadpur.

Police have also detained the driver, Amirul Islam, he said.

Faruk was rushed to DMCH, where he was declared dead, SI Bachchu said. His body was sent to DMCH morgue for autopsy, where sources said there was a head injury, which is possibly the cause of his death.