A motorcyclist was injured after being hit and dragged along the road at Dhaka’s Gulshan area, reportedly by a vehicle carrying a government sticker.
Reports of the incident first surfaced on social media and vent viral on Sunday.
According to a social media post, the vehicle, identified as an SUV carrying a Ministry of Finance sticker on its windscreen, first hit a motorcyclist on Road No 99 of Gulshan 1 and then the driver of the SUV asked the motorcyclist to stop and have a discussion with him.
However, the SUV driver reportedly attempted to speed away from the scene, dragging the motorcyclist along with it when the latter was holding on to the car’s bumper.
Later, locals chased the car and managed to stop it when it reached the end of Road No 103 near Pink City Shopping Mall. The facebook post also mentioned that a woman was sitting at the back of the car when the accident happened.
Neither the driver nor the passenger of the SUV came out of the vehicle despite protests from the victim and the locals, the post claimed.
At one point, police came to the scene and sent the victim to Shahabuddin Medical College and Hospital for primary treatment.
Confirming the incident to Dhaka Tribune, Gulshan police station Officer-in-Charge Abul Hasan said the victim received injuries to his legs after being dragged on the road by the car and was sent to Shahabuddin Medical College and Hospital for primary treatment.
“The victim, however, did not file any complaint with the police station over the incident. At the same time, it could not be confirmed if the vehicle involved with the incident was from the Ministry of Finance,” he added.
Residents of Gulshan and its adjoining areas have long been suffering from rash driving on its roads, which not only creates chaos in traffic management but also puts lives in danger.
In October 2015, Fareez Rahman, nephew of former Awami League lawmaker HBM Iqbal, drove a car recklessly and ploughed into rickshaws in Gulshan, injuring four people, including two rickshaw pullers.
In 2019, Liyana Tripura Popy, a 23-year-old student and beauty parlour employee, was killed when a speeding vehicle ran over the rickshaw carrying her, and her colleague Srabanti Tripura on Road No 79 at Gulshan.
Not only rash driving, the streets of Gulshan have also become a hotspot for illegal car races after hours, despite being designated as a “diplomatic zone” and housing many foreign embassies.
The Gulshan Society also held a two-day-long road safety awareness campaign in July this year to raise awareness among the young generation to drive safely and in a disciplined way in the residential zone.
