Protests erupted at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology on Friday after a student of the university was killed and two others were injured after being hit by a car in the wee hours of the day.
The deceased, Mohtassim Masud, 22, a student of the computer science and engineering department of BUET, along with the two injured 鈥� Amit Saha, 22, and Mehedi Hasan, 22, 鈥� was standing at a police check post on the 300 Feet Road at Purbachal when the car hit the three classmates at about 3:00am on Friday.
Police had stopped the聽 three BUET students riding a motorcycle for checking.
Mohtassim, who hailed from Cumilla and was a resident of Kalabagan in the capital Dhaka, died on the spot. He was buried at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard at Mirpur in the evening.
The injured are undergoing treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and in critical condition, said Md Faruk, in-charge of the DMCH police outpost.
Police found a can of beer and an empty alcohol bottle inside the car.
Protesters said that the news of the death outraged BUET students and they were particularly angry because of the private car responsible for the death and injuries was being driven by son of a former army officer, Brigadier General (retd) Abdullah Al Mamun, who resides at the Mirpur DOHS.
The son of a former army man, an A Level student, drove the car recklessly as he was drunk, said the statement that the students read out at a press conference at Palashi in the capital in the afternoon.
One of the injured told the students that they had been answering questions asked by police when the speeding car hit them.
The students in the press conference alleged that they did not have time to mourn the death of their friend as powerful relatives of the offender were trying to ensure that no case was filed over the incident.
In the past, the students said, influential offenders always got away after committing crimes, often using their influence or intimidating victims.
The students also placed six demands, including compensation to the affected families, treatment of the injured and steps against those using their influence to divert the matter.
They also urged the government to take necessary steps to ensure road safety so that no one would die in road accidents.
The protesting students called the incident a murder.
Naryanganj district superintendent of police Pratyush Kumar Majumdar said that the victim鈥檚 father, Md Masud Mia, filed a case with the Rupganj police station in this connection.
鈥楾hree people, including the driver of the car have been arrested,鈥� he said.
The arrested are 鈥� Mubin Al Mamun, 20, the driver and son of the former army officer, Md Merajul Karim, 22, son of Rizwanul Karim of Pirerbag, and Md Asif Chowdhury, 19, son of Bahauddin Chowdhury Baker of Uttara sector 13, police said.
Police said that Mubin could not provide any document after he was asked to show his driving licence.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Mohammad Mehedi Islam said that Mubin and Merajul were tested positive in the dope test for alcohol.
Investigating officer of the case sub-inspector Md Jahangir Alam said that the three arrested were sent to jail in the case under Road Transport Act, 2018.
鈥楾he arrested were produced before court on Friday afternoon with a five-day remand prayer for each. The date of the bail hearing would be informed by the court later,鈥� he said.
According to the case statement, the incident occurred when the three students were standing on the side of the road with their motorcycle parked during a police checking on the 300 Feet Road in front of Nila Market at Purbachal.
All the three victims were rushed to the Kurmitola General Hospital, where on-duty doctor declared Mohtassim brought dead.
About 8:30pm, BUET students gathered near the gate 1 of the Mirpur DOHS for demonstration.
