Former Chhatra Dal Leader Killed in Road Accident While Returning from Sylhet; Two Friends Injured

PNN News Desk, Sylhet

Saiful Islam, 55, former vice-president of the Kuliachar Upazila unit of Chhatra Dal and a contractor, was killed in a road accident while returning home after visiting Sylhet. He died on Friday (August 7) morning when two passenger buses collided head-on in the Osmaninagar area of the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway.

Two friends of Saiful Islam, Md. Farukul Islam Faruk, organising secretary of the Kuliachar Upazila BNP, and Abdul Latif, were seriously injured in the accident. Farukul Islam Faruk is currently undergoing treatment at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.

Saiful Islam was the son of the late Safi Uddin of Gobaria Laxmipur area in Kuliachar Upazila. He had previously served as vice-president of the Kuliachar Upazila unit of Chhatra Dal. He was also involved in the contracting business.

According to family sources, Saiful Islam and four of his friends left Kuliachar for Sylhet on the night of August 4. They stayed there for three days and visited various tourist destinations, including Ratargul and Jaflong. They also shared photographs and videos of different moments from their trip on social media.

After completing their trip, Saiful, Farukul Islam Faruk and Abdul Latif travelled by a Unique Paribahan bus toward Bhairab on Friday morning. The other two friends, Kamruzzaman Rana and Jamrul Mia, travelled by air from Sylhet Osmani International Airport to Dhaka for business purposes.

While travelling by bus on their way home, their bus collided head-on with a Bengal Paribahan bus coming from the opposite direction in the Osmaninagar area. The collision was so severe that Saiful Islam died at the scene. His two friends, Farukul Islam Faruk and Abdul Latif, were injured.

News of the accident spread quickly, creating an atmosphere of mourning in Kuliachar. Local resident Md. Naim Ahmed said the five friends had gone to Sylhet for an enjoyable trip. However, one of them had to return home as a dead body while coming back from the trip. He said it was extremely difficult to accept Saiful's tragic death.

Kuliachar Upazila BNP Publicity and Publication Secretary Kamrul Islam Musa said the five friends had travelled together and were also preparing to return to their respective destinations after the trip. However, the road accident changed everything. In the end, one of them had to return home in a coffin.