Police to probe overturning of prison van

The van overturned on Moghbazar flyover in Tejgaon while transporting 24 prisoners from Dhaka Central Jail to Kashimpur. The accident took place around 10:45am on Friday, leaving the van driver and five prisoners injured and halting communication on the road for an hour. Other drivers on the spot cited “break failure” for the turning over of the van. However, when reporters asked about the reason behind the accident, Dhaka district’s Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police (Special Branch) Mahfuzur Rahman said: “We initially thought that the crash was a result of the driver losing control of the vehicle.” Dhaka district’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Shah Mizan Shafiur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that they would form a probe body today to look into the matter. “With the naked eye, it appears to be an accident. But we have to find out the reason why the accident took place as the vehicle is used for sensitive tasks,” he said, adding that no sign of attempts to snatch prisoners has been detected so far. Officer-in-Charge of Tejgaon Industrial Area Police Station Abdur Rashid said: “The prison van was transporting 24 prisoners from Dhaka Central Jail to Kashimpur Jail. Police managed to rescue all the prisoners from the spot. They were given first aid and sent to Kashimpur.” On February 23, 2014, some armed miscreants, swooped on a prison van in Trishal upazila of Mymensingh and snatched away three detained activists of JMB. A police constable was shot dead.