Prime suspect in fatal Lohagara road crash that killed 11 arrested from Mirpur
A microbus carrying 11 people, including Rafiqul Islam, his wife, two young children, and relatives, was struck by a speeding Relax Paribahan bus coming from the opposite direction
The prime accused in a case filed in connection with a road crash that killed 11 people, including two children, on the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar highway has been arrested from Dhaka's Mirpur area.
The suspect, identified as Md Sohel Talukder, 27, driver of a Relax Paribahan bus, was apprehended during a joint operation by RAB-7, Chattogram and RAB-4, Dhaka yesterday (6 July).
ARM Mozaffar Hossain, senior assistant director (Media) of RAB-7, confirmed the arrest through a press release today morning.
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According to the press release, the fatal accident took place on the morning of 2 April 2025, in Chunati area under Lohagara Police Station. A microbus carrying 11 people, including Rafiqul Islam, his wife, two young children, and relatives, was struck by a speeding Relax Paribahan bus coming from the opposite direction. The impact was so severe that the microbus was completely mangled, killing 10 passengers on the spot. One more person succumbed to injuries later, raising the death toll to 11.
The victims were travelling from Dhaka's Mirpur to Cox's Bazar for a family trip. The bus driver fled the scene immediately after the crash, leaving the vehicle behind.
Following the incident, the victim's brother-in-law, Md Rabiul Hasan Sujan, filed a case at Lohagara Police Station on 3 April, under sections 98 and 105 of the 2018 Road Transport Act. The case was registered against the unidentified driver of the Relax Paribahan bus.
In response, RAB-7 launched a shadow investigation and conducted intelligence surveillance to track down the fugitive. Acting on a tip-off, they discovered that the suspect was hiding in the Mirpur Model Police Station area of Dhaka.
On Sunday at around 6pm, a joint RAB team conducted a raid near the Ansar Camp area in Mirpur and successfully arrested Md Sohel Talukder, son of Md Hanif, originally from Farhadabad under Dakshinkhan Police Station in Dhaka.
During primary interrogation, Sohel confessed to being the driver of the Relax Paribahan bus responsible for the deadly collision. He also admitted that he had been hiding in different locations across Dhaka to evade arrest.
RAB officials handed the accused over to Mirpur Model Police Station for further legal proceedings.
The fatal incident, which claimed an entire family and several of their relatives, sparked public outrage and renewed calls for stricter enforcement of traffic laws and penalties for reckless driving in Bangladesh.
