Bus in Natore Crash: Ran without route permit for 26 years

Authorities yesterday closed the officer-in-charge of Bonpara Highway Police Station in Natore for his failure to keep illegal vehicles off the highways.

GM Shamsun Nur was attached to the office of superintendent of highway police in Bogra, said Shahidullah, additional SP of highway police in Bogra.

Also yesterday, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority cancelled the registration of the bus involved in Saturday's crash that left 15 dead and 20 others injured on Natore-Pabna highway.

The bus had plied the highways in the last 26 years without any route permit, said Foyej Ahmed, inspector of Bogra BRTA.

The BRTA also cancelled the licence of its driver Shamim Hossain, who fled the scene of the crash, he added.

Bogra police, meanwhile, detained and released Manju Sarker, owner of the bus of Challenger Paribahan, on Sunday allegedly following local other bus owners' requests.

Manju is one of the seven accused in a case filed with Lalpur police station over the crash. Police so far arrested the driver's assistant Abdus Salam.

Inspector Sheikh Farid Uddin of Bogra Sadar Police Outpost, where Manju was detained, did not comment when asked why he was released.

Other accused in the case include Bonpara Human Haulier Owners' Association President Jabed Hossain, its General Secretary Jakir Hossain, owner of the illegally modified human haulier involved in the crash Shahadat Hossain, bus driver Shamim Hossain and his assistant Abdus Samad.

Low-speed human hauliers and illegal locally designed three-wheelers have been kept off the Natore-Pabna highway since Saturday. But those vehicles were seen on other national and regional highways in Rajshahi division.

The sudden fall in the number of vehicles caused suffering to commuters on Natore-Pabna highway. Local business owners said they could not find transport for carrying goods.

Natore administration yesterday evening began a crackdown on vehicles without valid documents and workshops that modify vehicles illegally.

Sajedur Rahman Sagar, secretary of Natore Zilla Bus-Minibus Owners' Association, said local bus services among neighbouring districts and upazilas had stopped a couple of years ago as human hauliers and other low-speed vehicles became popular.

Shaheena Khatun, deputy commissioner of Natore, said the administration arranged four minibuses to serve local routes.

Mostafizur Rahman, superintendent of highway police in Bogra, said police were trying to keep illegal vehicles off the highways.

Although Pabna police seized about 100 three wheelers from the highways, many locally made ones known as Bhotbhoti and Nasiman plied Pabna-Nagarbari, Pabna-Natore and Pabna-Kushtia highways.

The picture was similar on highways in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj.

PROBE COMMITTEE FORMED

The Road Transport and Highways division formed a 10-member committee headed by Shafiqul Islam, additional secretary (administration) of the division, to probe recent crashes in Natore, Narshindi and Feni.