Another Road Crash in Habiganj: Motorcyclist Killed in Madhabpur, 4 Deaths in Two Upazilas in Just 5 Days

Schoolteacher Rupajit Kor Raju

The rising death toll on Habiganj’s roads shows no sign of slowing. On Monday morning, motorcyclist Ashraful Haque (30) was killed after being hit by a speeding vehicle in Madhabpur. In the previous five days, three others lost their lives in separate truck-related accidents in Bahubal upazila. The series of fatal crashes has sparked growing anger and fear among local residents.

According to police and local sources, the accident occurred around 7:45 a.m. near the southern side of the Ratanpur Bus Stand on the Dhaka–Sylhet Highway. Ashraful, son of Fazlul Haque from Gorao village in Brahmanbaria’s Nasirnagar, was crossing the road on his motorcycle when a fast-moving vehicle collided with him head-on. He died on the spot. Ashraful worked at a local private company and was on his way to join duty.

Shaistaganj Highway Police later recovered the body and initiated legal procedures. Officer-in-Charge Abu Taher Dewan said, “The vehicle fled the scene immediately after the crash. Efforts are underway to identify and arrest it.”

Just a day earlier, on Sunday morning, schoolteacher Rupajit Kor Raju (36) of Mirpur Sunshine Model High School was killed in Bahubal after a vegetable-laden truck rammed into him and his colleagues. The incident occurred around 7 a.m. at Bendarpul on the Dhaka–Sylhet regional highway while he was walking with colleagues. According to witnesses, the speeding truck lost control, struck the group, and then fled the scene. Raju died after being taken to the district hospital, while the injured Furonjon Deb was admitted to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.

Raju had been married for only two months, and his sudden death has cast a deep shadow of grief over the entire area. In mourning, the school authorities postponed all annual examinations and suspended classes for a day.”

Bahubal Model Police Station OC Aminul Islam confirmed the teacher’s death, adding that no complaint had yet been filed. Sreemangal Satgaon Highway Police OC Shubho Ranjan Chakma said the truck involved had not been identified. “Once a complaint is filed, we will immediately launch an operation,”

Three days before that, on 2 December, two people—pickup driver Ashraful Muktakim (35) and vegetable trader Liton Gazi (55)—were killed in a head-on collision between a truck and a pickup in the Mouchak area of Bahubal.

With four deaths in just five days in two upazilas of Habiganj, residents are questioning how justice can be ensured if the responsible speeding vehicles remain unidentified. Families of the victims, students and locals have demanded a thorough investigation and swift arrests of the drivers involved. Witnesses urged police to step up patrols and use highway cameras to identify and capture fleeing vehicles.a