STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Assistant Sub-Inspector Emadul Haque, who took the steering of a bus and killed two men after ploughing through a crowd, had physically assaulted the driver and helper of the vehicle.

Emadul of Sergeant Ahad Police Box was taken into a two-day remand yesterday in a case, filed by a deceased’s father, under the Road Transport Act with Paltan Police Station.

Speaking to The Daily Star yesterday, Ariful Islam Babu, helper of the Sraban Transport bus, said that the vehicle first “slightly touched” a plainclothes man walking down the ramp of Hanif Flyover.

“The man then got onto the bus and introduced himself as a police officer. He started beating me and the driver, alleging that the bus was being driven roughly… Another police officer in uniform [Emadul], who was nearby, came to the spot and started beating us too.

“He told the driver to get off and said the bus was seized and would be taken to Paltan Police Station,” Ariful said, adding that Emadul then started driving the empty bus.

Abdul Ahad, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Motijheel Division, however, gave a different version. He claimed that the driver and the helper fled the scene, abandoning the bus, and Emadul had to drive the bus as it was causing traffic congestion.

Although the area is under the jurisdiction of DMP’s Wari Division, ASI Emadul of Paltan police seized the bus without informing the police station concerned.

Speaking to this paper, many traffic police officers said police officials are not supposed to drive seized vehicles and are instead supposed to get them towed.

Kabir Hossain Howlader, officer-in-charge of Wari Police Station, said the place of occurrence came under their jurisdiction but no one informed them about incident at the time.

“After two people were killed, officials from Paltan Police Station informed us that one policeman was injured in an accident before the bus ploughed through a crowd,” he said, adding that no complaint was lodged.

Police said the injured officer took treatment at Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital.

They claimed Emadul started working in the force as a constable. At that time, he used to drive vehicles of senior police officers. Since then, he had a driving license. He was later promoted to ASI.

Thursday’s fatal incident killed two men, including a US expat, and injured at least three others.