Hundreds of angry ready-made garment (RMG) workers took to the streets of Malibagh in Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon as two teenagers, including a female RMG worker, were killed by reckless driving of a bus driver.
The protesters torched at least one bus and damaged at least 50 buses in the area, eye witnesses said.
The deceased were identified as Nahid Parveen Poly, 19, an employee of MH Garments Factory in Malibagh, and Meem Akhter, 14.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Jamal Uddin of Hatirjheel police station said the accident took place near the Abul Hotel restaurant in Malibagh’s Chowdhury para area around 2pm.
Mithu Mondol, a rickshaw puller who witnessed the accident, said a Gazipur-bound bus of Suprabhat Paribahan, while coming down the Malibagh flyover in Chowdhury para, was racing another passenger bus to take on new passengers.
In an attempt to overtake the other bus, the Suprabhat Paribahan sped up and ran over Meem and Parveen.
Meem was killed on the spot, while Parveen was seriously injured, said Sergeant Shuvo Kumar Dey, who took Parveen to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) immediately after the accident.
The doctors on duty pronounced her dead after they arrived at the hospital, said ASI Jamal.
Fire engulfs a passenger bus after angry RMG workers set it ablaze in Malibagh, Dhaka on the evening of Tuesday, January 1, 2019 | Dhaka Tribune
Meem’s cousin Saiful Islam, who was present at the scene, said: “I found her dead on the street. Later, I took her body to the Dhaka Medical College morgue.”
ASI Jamal said police arrested the driver, 20-year-old Mohammad Jubayer and seized the bus.
Brutal protest
As word about the accident spread out, agitated RMG workers of several factories in the area came out on the streets and launched a violent demonstration, Meem’s cousin Saiful Islam, who is also an RMG worker, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Abdul Wahab, a local vendor, said the agitation spread over more than a kilometre along the street, stretching between the Rampura Bazar and Chowdhurypara, where hundreds of protesters vandalized at least 50 minibuses and buses. One of the buses of Suprabhat Paribahan was also set on fire.
An angry RMG worker attacks a passenger bus of Suprabhat Paribahan in Malibagh, Dhaka on Tuesday, January 1, 2019 | Dhaka Tribune
At least 11 vandalized buses were seen stranded on the street in the area, UNB reported.
The protest caused a massive traffic gridlock in the surrounding areas.
ASI Jamal said the agitation went on till 6:45pm, before police intervened and cleared the area.
‘Holiday turned into nightmare’
Meem’s mother, Jorina Begum, was screaming for her daughter when the Dhaka Tribune met her.
Saiful, her cousin, while trying to console his aunt, was inconsolable himself.
“Meem was the baby of our family,” he said. “This was her first trip to Dhaka. We never imagined it would also be the end of her life.”
Saiful said Meem had insisted on visiting Dhaka during her winter holidays. The mother-daughter duo had arrived in the city from their home in the Gabtali area of Bogra on December 17 and was staying in Saiful’s flat, located near the flyover.
“They were going to go back home in two or three days, as Meem was supposed start a new year in school,” Saiful said.
Tuesday, Meem stubbornly insisted on seeing an RMG factory, so the family allowed her to go with Parveen, Saiful’s neighbour, to see her workplace.
Parveen was taking out Meem to lunch during her break, when they were run over by the bus.