Woman critically injured as boy drives car into rickshaw in Dhaka
The boy, who drove the vehicle, was sent to the juvenile correction centre, police say
A private car driven by a boy rammed a rickshaw in Dhaka's Mohammadpur area on Saturday night and dragged one of its passengers around 50 feet backward before crashing onto the footpath, resulting in her critical injuries.
Injured Afroza Ahmed is currently receiving treatment at United Hospital, where her condition is critical, family members say.
Quoting the hospital's doctors, Khalid Hasan Saikat, the victim's brother-in-law, stated that she suffered severe injuries, including the displacement of two lower discs of her spinal cord, a fractured spinal cord, and internal haemorrhage. Her condition is critical and the medical board will determine the need for immediate surgery.
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The young boy, responsible for driving the car, has been sent to a juvenile correction centre.
He was later identified as a 14-year-old student of Mohammadpur Preparatory High School. He is also associated with the ruling party-backed student organisation Bangladesh Chhatra League and holds the position of joint secretary in Ward 31 of Mohammadpur Thana unit BCL, according to police.
Eyewitnesses said Imran Reza and Afroza Ahmed were returning home with their three-year-old daughter on a rickshaw in Mohammadpur on Sunday night. An over-speeding sedan suddenly veered onto the wrong side of the road from a nearby alley and crashed into the rickshaw, leaving its passengers injured.
Following the incident, the victim's family lodged a formal complaint with the Mohammadpur police station.
Sub-inspector Bashar of Mohammadpur Police Station confirmed that due to the boy's status as a minor, he was not detained but rather sent to a juvenile correction centre.
Ishrat Hassan, a Supreme Court lawyer, voiced concern over the incident, emphasising that a child should not be allowed behind the wheel until reaching an appropriate age or obtaining a driving licence.
She, also a human rights activist, called on law enforcement agencies to exercise greater caution in handling such cases.
