Police subsequently detained the bus driver and supervisor
Rangpur:Two passengers were allegedly killed after being thrown from a moving bus in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur on Sunday morning.
The incident took place around 8:00am in the Jighatala area of the Rangpur-Dinajpur highway. Following the incident, angry locals blocked the highway and staged protests.
The deceased were identified as Mukul Islam, 28, son of Kalu Mia, and Shakib Basunia, 22, son of Lokman Basunia. Both were residents of Basuniapara in Charai Khola Union under Nilphamari Sadar upazila.
According to police, the families of the deceased and local sources, the victims were returning home by a bus of Saimon Exclusive Paribahan after finishing their work as construction workers at the Cumilla Cantonment area. Six people from the same locality were travelling on the bus.
An argument reportedly broke out between them and the bus staff during the journey. When the bus reached Taraganj, one of the passengers, identified as Atik, was held on the bus while the others were made to get off.
Later, when Mukul and Shakib boarded the bus again to rescue Atik, an argument broke out between them and the bus staff. The situation eventually turned into a scuffle. The bus staff allegedly kicked the two passengers off the moving bus.
Hearing Atik's cries for help, passengers in a microbus assisted locals in stopping the bus in the Chikli area. Police subsequently detained the bus driver and supervisor.
According to Taraganj Fire Service, a team rushed to the Jighatala area after receiving information about the incident around 8:00am.
Rescuers found two people lying beside the road. One of them had died at the scene, while the other was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Benjir Ahmed, a firefighter with Taraganj Fire Service who was part of the rescue team, said they found the two men lying beside the road upon reaching the scene.
"No signs of a road accident were found there. Local people told us that the two men had been thrown off a bus," he said.
Taraganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Monabbar Hossain described the incident as extremely tragic.
He said police had detained the bus driver and supervisor and taken them into custody.