RAFIUL ISLAM

Like any other day, Tasnim Jahan Irene and her sister Nusrat Jahan Zerin were heading to their office – Next Venture – in the capital’s Uttar Badda in an auto-rickshaw from Mirpur.

They reached the area around 9:15am and were about to cross Pragati Sarani, one of Dhaka’s busiest thoroughfares.

Notably, there were no footbridges nearby.

Around the same time, two Akash Paribahan buses were racing in their desperation to overtake each other to get more passengers.

Suddenly, one bus slammed into the other and then ran over both the sisters, witnesses said.

Irene, a business development executive, died on the spot. Her life, full of promise, was cruelly snatched away in the blink of an eye.

Zerin, a staffer of the same institution, survived narrowly with injuries to her legs. She was taken to a nearby hospital.

“The two sisters lived and worked together… But one reckless driver tore them apart,” said Saima Sultana, the victims’ sister-in-law, her voice heavy with grief as she spoke to The Daily Star.

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