The Tangail-Mymensingh road has become somewhat of a horror for passengers, especially women, given the rise in rapes and robberies on moving buses on the road.
Around 10km of the road in the area has forests on both sides, rendering it quiet and ghostly at night.
A lack of police patrol and street lights has turned the place into a hotspot for criminals and made the road unsafe for passengers.
Recently two incidents, one that of a girl being raped on a moving bus and the other of a bus being hijacked by robbers and a passenger getting raped, shook the nation.
Just beside the highway is Madhupur Forest which makes for an easy escape for criminals.
The recent incidents are far from being the only ones that took place on the 10km road.
On January 26, 2009, a school headmistress was killed after being pushed out of a moving bus by robbers.
Bashonti Mangsang was on her way to Telki from the Madhupur Forest area on a bus, which was hijacked by robbers en route.
They took her purse which had around Tk11,000 in cash and pushed her out of the bus.
On August 25, 2017, a college student was gang-raped and then killed on a moving bus.
The driver, his helper and their accomplices threw Rupa’s body in the forest who was on her way to Mymensingh from Bogura after finishing her exams.
Three days later on August 28, police arrested Choya Transport Driver Habibur, supervisor Safar Ali and helpers Shamin, Akram and Jahangir.
A year later on February 12, a tribunal gave the death penalty to four of them and seven-years prison term to another.
On April 1, 2016, an RMG worker was gang-raped in a Binimoy Transport bus after she set out for Kaliakoir from Tangail. Bus supervisor Rezaul Karim shut the windows of the empty bus and along with driver Habibur Rahman Nayan and helper Bhutto, raped her. They dropped the survivor in Madhupur.
Three years later, on May 22, they were given life terms by the court.
Eugene Nakrek, the president of Madhupur Jayenshahi Adibashi Unnayan Parishad says that the area is more prone to these kind of crimes because there are hardly any people in the area at night.
“Robbers consider this place a safe spot,” he said.
“Moreover, even if there are patrols, constant monitoring does not happen,” he added.
Tangail Bus Coach Minibus Owners Association President Khandaker Iqbal Hossain told Dhaka Tribune that police check posts are imperative in order to bring these crimes under control.
He added that the long-haul buses need to be checked and called for the prime minister’s intervention in this regard.
Social welfare platform, Sujan’s Tangail unit Presdident Khan Mohammad Khaeld told Dhaka Tribune: “The highway police needs to be more cautious and play a responsible role.”
According to him, the real culprit often goes unpunished.
He added that the easy availability of drugs are behind the rise to these incidents.
Tangail Superintendent of Police Sarker Muhammad said: “We have to adopt strategies to enhance safety in the streets.”
He added that CCTV footage inside buses do not provide enough vision for surveillances.
“Steps will be taken after speaking to the owner’s association and police headquarters,” he said.
According to him, the Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge is also road is also risky and strategies need to be implemented to prevent these crimes.
