Journalist Kazi Ashraf, 45, of Narail was killed in a road accident in Bhanga upazila of Faridpur on Sunday morning. Another man travelling with him, Mahmudul Hasan Anik, was seriously injured in the accident.
The accident occurred around 7:30am in the Mansurabad area of Bhanga upazila on the Khulna-Dhaka Highway.
Kazi Ashraf was the son of Kazi Shamsur Rahman of Gopinathpur village in Lohagara municipality, Narail. He worked as the Narail district correspondent for Asian Television and as the Lohagara correspondent for the daily newspaper Karatoa.
According to family members, Kazi Ashraf and Mahmudul Hasan Anik left Lohagara for Dhaka on a motorcycle on Sunday morning for personal reasons.
When they reached the Mansurabad area, the motorcycle reportedly slipped on the wet road amid rain and the riders lost control. The motorcycle then collided with a bus belonging to Dola Paribahan.
Both Kazi Ashraf and Anik sustained serious injuries in the crash.
Police and local residents rescued the injured men and took them to Bhanga Upazila Health Complex. As Kazi Ashraf's condition was critical, he was later transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment.
He died while undergoing treatment at around noon on Sunday.
Sub-Inspector (SI) Sohel Rana of Bhanga Highway Police Station said two motorcycle riders were injured in a road accident in the Mansurabad area in the morning.
They were rescued and taken to Bhanga Upazila Health Complex, he said. As one of them was in critical condition, he was referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he later died.
Legal proceedings in connection with the accident are underway, the police official added.
The first funeral prayer for journalist Kazi Ashraf will be held at 8am Monday at the premises of Lakshmipasha Al-Markazul Mosque. A second funeral prayer will be held at 10am at Chhatrhajari School field near his ancestral home.
The death of Kazi Ashraf has cast a pall of grief over the journalist community in Narail and Lohagara. Various journalist organisations and his colleagues have expressed deep sorrow over his death and conveyed condolences to his bereaved family.
