Two commuters killed after ‘being pushed off moving bus’ in Rangpur

Two passengers were killed and another injured after a bus supervisor allegedly pushed them off a moving coach following an argument over fares on the Rangpur-Dinajpur highway on Sunday.
The incident occurred around 8am in the Jigartal area of Taraganj upazila. Following the incident, angry locals blocked the highway and staged protests.
The deceased were Mukul Islam, 28, son of Kalu Mia, and Shakib Basunia, 22, son of Lokman Basunia, both from Basuniapara village in Nilphamari Sadar upazila. 
According to police, family members of the deceased and local sources, the victims were returning home aboard a Saimon Exclusive Paribahan bus after completing their work at the Cumilla Cantonment area, where they were employed as construction workers. Six people from the same locality were travelling together on the bus.
An altercation reportedly broke out between the passengers and bus staff during the journey. When the bus reached Taraganj, one of the passengers, identified as Atik, was detained on board, while the others were forced to get off.
Mukul and Shakib later boarded the bus again in an attempt to rescue Atik, triggering another argument with the bus staff. The dispute escalated into a scuffle, during which the staff allegedly kicked the two passengers off the moving bus. Hearing Atik's cries for help, passengers in a microbus joined local residents in stopping the bus in the Chikli area. 
Taraganj Highway Police Station OC Mostafizur Rahman said they later detained the bus driver and supervisor. According to Taraganj Fire Service, a rescue team was dispatched to the Jighatala area after receiving information about the incident around 8am.
Rescuers found the two men lying beside the road, one of whom had died at the scene. The other was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Benjir Ahmed, a firefighter with Taraganj Fire Service who was part of the rescue team, said they found the two men lying beside the road upon arriving at the scene.
“There were no signs of a road accident at the spot. Local residents told us that the two men had been thrown off a moving bus,” he said.
Taraganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Monabbar Hossain also confirmed the matter and described the incident as extremely tragic.