Inhuman and tragic

The incident of crushing, dragging and both together of victims fallen off a small and slow moving vehicle when hit from behind by a bigger one happened before. In all such cases of rear-end collision, the drivers were, as usual, those who were professional but hardly educated. In one such deliberately caused incident, a gang of muggers from a microbus snatched the vanity bag of a woman on a rickshaw on the Mirpur Road near the New Model Degree College. Entangled with the strap of the vanity bag, she was dragged half a kilometre towards the Jatiya Sangsad until the straps gave in. The woman had no chance of survival and she died.  

Muggers and drivers who are expected to be less sensitive than people in better positions in society or pursuing a meaningful life's calling committed such inhuman acts in a number of cases to the outrage of society. But on Friday it was perpetrated by none other than a former associate professor of the University of Dhaka. Not only did the man behind the steering wheel rammed his car into a motor cycle from behind but also continued his frenzied speed without stopping. Both motor cycle riders were thrown out of their motor cycle when the collision happened in front of the fine arts building of DU. Although the man driving the motor cycle also fell but survived, it was the pillion passenger, a woman, whose clothes somehow got entangled with the car.  

In that critical moment any sensible person should have opted for a hard brake but the former DU teacher could not care less. He continued driving until he reached Nilkhet intersection ignoring the screams of the victim and the shocked pedestrians who were witness to this horrific scene. How could a man of teaching profession commit this inhuman act? Was it panic or was he simply out of mind?  

It can be assumed his academic record was good enough for taking to teaching at the country's highest seat of learning. But the vice-chancellor of the university informs that he was terminated in 2018 because of his long absence from academic duty. This professional history speaks volumes for the man. A DU teacher cannot be sacked without following due procedures. Any teacher or someone from other professions certainly is at liberty to leave his/her job for better prospects or other reasons. But this is also done following rules and regulations. One cannot do so without informing the proper authority. One must be found guilty of not complying with the set rules before one is terminated from job.  

But leaving the job without information is one thing and driving a car on a human being and dragging her a kilometre under it, ignoring shouts and screams for bringing the car to a halt is a completely different thing. Human life is too precious to be treated as sport. In a country where a sadistic streak runs strong, an addition of a teacher's inhumanity to it will send a wrong message to carefree and happy-go-lucky drivers. Even if he is accused of murder and awarded the punishment he deserves, the sad fact that he ignored the intense physical pain of the woman when dragged under the car for a kilometre will haunt people forever.  

Unless one is a brute and has a heart of stone, one cannot help shuddering at the thought of doing anything similar. He has not only disgraced his profession, his teaching fraternity but also human values that are an exclusive preserve of the most rational animal. This is an act of denial of respect for human life. One who can do so may be anything but a normal person. When a highly educated academic should set example of humanitarian service and quality of head and heart, this man has acted like a criminal of the vilest kind. People will be waiting for what he has to say in his self defence. That will give an insight into his dark reaches of mind.  

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