Police on Saturday arrested a bus driver who is accused in a case filed over the death of 17 people in a road accident on the Rajshahi-Dhaka highway in Katakhali.
Driver Md Abdur Rahim, from Baraipara village in Puthia upazila, was arrested from the Mahindra Bypass area in Belpukur upazila of Rajshahi at 2pm on Saturday, Rajshahi Metropolitan Police spokesman Golam Ruhul Quddus said.
He added that the bodies of the deceased were being handed over to relatives following legal procedures at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
Rajshahi Additional Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Shariful Haque said Deputy Commissioner Abdul Jalil has formed a committee with Additional Deputy Commissioner Abu Aslam as a convener to investigate the road accident.
“The cause of the accident will be determined after investigation. Each person has been paid Tk10,000 for the burial and arrangements have also been made to deliver the bodies to their homes,” he added.
Also Read: Bus-microbus collision leaves 17 dead in Rajshahi
Earlier, at least 17 people, including all passengers of a microbus, were killed after a collision with a passenger bus and gas cylinder explosion on Friday afternoon in Rajshahi.
Police said the Hanif Paribahan bus and the microbus were both traveling at high speeds. The bus strayed on the wrong side of the road and fell into a ditch after the collision.