Two Jamaat leaders dead, several hurt in bus crash at Faridpur’s Bhanga

Two Jamaat-e-Islami leaders have been killed and several others injured when their minibus was hit by a long-route coach at the Bhanga roundabout in Faridpur as they were travelling to a party rally in Dhaka.

The crash occurred around dawn on the Dhaka-Khulna Highway, according to Bhanga Police Station chief Mohammad Ashfaq Hossain.

The victims were identified as Abu Sayeed, 55, and Mohammad Amanat Sheikh, 55, both from Dakop Upazila in Khulna. Sayeed was the Ameer, or chief, of Jamaat's Dakop unit.

Officer Ashfaq said the victims were among a group of Jamaat members heading to Dhaka from Khulna in a minibus to attend the party’s scheduled rally at Suhrawardy Udyan.

He added that the vehicle had made a brief stop at the Bhanga roundabout when a Royal Express bus travelling from Khulna to Dhaka rear-ended the stationary minibus.

The impact killed two men standing in front of the vehicle on the spot. Eight to nine others inside the minibus were injured in the crash.

"Upon receiving news of the accident, police from Bhanga Police Station, Bhanga Highway Police, and members of the Fire Service rushed to the scene and brought the situation under control,” Ashfaq said.

The bodies and the minibus were later placed under the custody of the Bhanga Highway Police, he added.