Police are in a chase to catch the man who ran over a security guard in the capital’s posh Banani area on ‘chandrat (night before Eid) on 30 March.
Security guard Din Mohammad (50) was seriously injured after being hit by a luxury car on the night and later died in hospital the following day.
Confirming the matter on Saturday, Banani police station officer-in-charge (OC) Russell Sarwar said that a case has been filed with his thana by private security company Max Secure Limited of which Din Mohammad was an employee.
Witnesses said that a reckless car (Dhaka Metro G 18-6531) hit Din Mohammad on Road 12, Banani at around 11:30pm and quickly fled the scene.
Later investigation found a man named Mehdi Malek Sajeeb was driving the car. He was returning from Gulshan Club and drunk when made the hit and run accident.
He is known as a grandson of the late Abdul Malek Ukil, the speaker of the first parliament of Bangladesh.
BRTA (Bangladesh Road Transport Authority) documents show Sajeeb’s wife Maria Binte Mujib owns the car.
Investigation found that on the night of the incident, Sajeeb hosted a party at the Gulshan Club, but left the celebration in anger following some altercations with some of the party attendees.
Max Secure Limited’s general manager (GM) Moktadir Al Nahid told Times of Bangladesh that Din Mohammad was on duty on Banani Road No. 12 from 8 pm on the night of the tragic incident.
“Immediately after the incident, the employees of our sub-office took Din Mohammad to Kurmitola General Hospital. From there, he was transferred to Pongu Hospital (NITOR) at Agargaon,” Ali told the Times of Bangladesh.
He said: Since Din Mohammad had serious head injuries, he was quickly admitted to the nearby Neuro Science Hospital. In the morning the following day (Eid day), he was taken to Pongu Hospital for some tests. But, at one stage he started vomiting and at around 8:30am the on-duty doctor declared him dead.
Regarding the case filed with Banani police station, the GM of the company said, at first Din Mohammad’s family was advised to lodge a case. “As they expressed their inability, our company’s assistant manager (operations) Md. Monir filed the case as the plaintiff.”
The case was filed under the Road Transport Act.
Chapter 11 of the Road Transport Act 2018, Crimes, Trial and Punishment (Accident-Related Offenses 105), states that if a person is seriously injured or killed in an accident caused by the reckless or negligent driving of a motor vehicle, that person shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or a fine not exceeding five lakh taka, or both.
Sub-Inspector Mizanur Rahman of Banani PS, the investigating officer of the case, told the Times of Bangladesh that the case was filed Friday night. “I visited the spot. Our investigation is ongoing. The CCTV footage of the scene has not been collected yet, we will get it by tonight.”
When asked about the accused and the driver of the car, he said, “Mehdi Malek Sajeeb was the driver of the car at the time of the accident. We are investigating the case. We are unable to provide more details for the sake of investigation.”
The deceased, Din Mohammad, hailed from Araihajar in Narayanganj. He has been buried at his village.