The conductor of Suprobhat Paribahan yesterday confessed to a magistrate that he was driving the bus that ran over and killed university student Abrar Ahmed Chowdhury on March 19.

“I was driving the bus following the instruction of its owner as driver Mohammad Sirajul Islam was caught by passengers and handed him over to police after he had hit and injured a college girl in Banshtala area of Shahjadpur the same day,” said conductor Yasin Arafat.

The college girl is Synthia Islam Mukta, 20, a student of Mirpur Ideal Girls' Laboratory Institute.

After the first accident, Yasin informed the bus owner of the matter and asked him what he would do. In reply, the owner told him to flee the spot with the bus. Following the instruction, he fled the scene to avoid mass beating and torching of the vehicle.

He added that he ran over and killed Abrar, a first-year honours student at Bangladesh University of Professionals, near the Bashundhara Residential Area around 7:30am on March 19.

Metropolitan Magistrate Sadbir Yasir Ahsan Chowdhury recorded the confessional statement of Yasin after Detective Branch Inspector Kazi Shariful Islam placed him before the court.

Another Metropolitan Magistrate Md Sarafuzzaman Ansary recorded the statement of bus helper Mohammad Ibrahim where he admitted that he was on the bus when Sirajul was steering the bus and hit the college girl. But he was not on the bus when conductor Yasin was driving the vehicle that killed Abrar.

After recording their confessional statements, both the conductor and the helper were sent to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.

On March 28, driver Sirajul confessed to a magistrate that conductor Yasin was at the wheel and killed Abrar after he hit the college girl.