A 55-year-old bus driver died from smoke inhalation early Tuesday morning after miscreants set fire to his parked vehicle along the Dhaka-Barishal highway in Faridpur town.
The incident occurred at around 1:45 AM near the municipal bus terminal in the Goalchamat area. The victim, Kalachan Sheikh, had been a driver for 30 years and operated the Faridpur-Madaripur regional route bus named 'Kishore-Tanmoy'. Because it was late, he was sleeping inside the vehicle, a common practice for him.
According to police and transport workers, three individuals arrived on a motorcycle, poured petrol on the bus and ignited it. Though Kalachan managed to escape the flames, he suffered severe smoke inhalation and burns on one arm. He collapsed shortly after and was rushed to Faridpur Medical College Hospital where emergency doctors declared him dead.
Local fire service units arrived within minutes and extinguished the blaze though the vehicle was completely gutted. Faridpur Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Ajmir Hossain stated that police are reviewing city CCTV footage and have launched a manhunt to identify and arrest the culprits.
