An 85-year-old man died following a reported road accident in the Solonga area of Sirajganj on Monday, though his family has alleged that it was a planned murder stemming from a land dispute.
The incident took place at around 8:30am on Monday in the Pachil Bridge area under Solonga Police Station. The deceased was identified as Sunil Chandra, 85, son of the late Kartik Chandra, residing in Gurpipul village of Ward No 9 under Deshigram Union in Tarash Upazila.
According to police and local sources, pedestrians rescued the critically injured Sunil Chandra from the scene and took him to Sirajganj Medical College Hospital. He was admitted at around 9:20am, but the duty doctor declared him dead at around 9:30am while he was undergoing treatment.
Sirajganj Sadar Police Station SI (Unarmed) Md Saiful Islam confirmed the matter, stating that the body is currently kept in the morgue of Sirajganj Medical College Hospital.
Meanwhile, the deceased’s family members, including his son Panthas Kumar Sarkar, alleged that Sunil Chandra had left home at around 7am alongside a neighbour, Kartik Niranjan Mahanta, to attend a court appearance in Sirajganj.
They said that a lawsuit concerning 16 bighas of property was ongoing at the Sirajganj court, with the verdict scheduled to be delivered today.
The family claimed that the opposing party feared an unfavourable verdict, adding that they had previously secured 10 decrees in their favour regarding the case.
Refusing to accept the incident as a mere road accident, the family questioned why no witnesses saw the collision if he was travelling to court, and demanded an investigation to uncover the true mystery.
The deceased’s three sons are currently present at Sirajganj Sadar Police Station.
However, Hatikumrul Highway Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mahbubur Rahman said, “No such road accident occurred today.”
Police said that the incident is currently being investigated, and the allegations of planned murder raised by the family will be verified through the probe.
