Injured state minister being brought to Dhaka after road accident

State Minister for Public Administration and Food Abdul Bari, who was injured in a road accident in Shibganj of Bogura on Friday morning, is being taken to Dhaka for better treatment.

The accident occurred in the Gopinathpur area of the Joypurhat-Mokamtala regional highway in Shibganj upazila of Bogura.

A woman, Firoza Bibi, who was also injured in the accident, died while undergoing treatment at a hospital around noon on Friday.

Following the accident, Abdul Bari and his wife Nazma Ara Begum were taken to Joypurhat General Hospital, where they received primary treatment. The state minister was later advised to go to Dhaka for better treatment.

Joypurhat Deputy Commissioner (DC) Al-Mamun Mia said the minister left for Dhaka by ambulance around 1pm.

He was scheduled to attend a programme in Joypurhat but could not do so because of the accident, the DC said.

According to eyewitnesses and police, the accident occurred while the minister was travelling to Joypurhat on an official visit.

When the vehicle reached Gopinathpur, a woman identified as Firoza Bibi suddenly came in front of it. The driver then lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road and fell into a paddy field.

The minister and his wife were injured in the accident.

Joypurhat General Hospital Superintendent Sardar Rashed Mobarak said the minister had not suffered any bone fracture.

He sustained a soft-tissue injury to his right leg, along with temporary injuries to his hand, shoulder and neck, the hospital official said.

He was given primary treatment, including a short-leg plaster on his injured leg, and advised to receive further treatment at a private hospital in Dhaka.