Murder case filed against driver, helper of truck that fatally ran over firefighter Noyon
Noyon was fatally run over by the truck when he was crossing the street with a water hose on his shoulder to douse the fire at the Secretariat
The Fire Service and Civil Defence has filed a murder case against the driver and helper of a truck that fatally ran over firefighter Shoyanur Jaman Noyon while he was working to douse a fire at the Bangladesh Secretariat early today (26 December).
The case was filed at Shahbagh Police Station at around 3pm today, the station's Officer-in-Charge (OC) Khaled Mansur confirmed to The Business Standard.
"A murder case has been registered over the death of Noyon, a member of the fire service, who was hit by a truck. The fire service has given a statement and accordingly, we have registered a case," said the OC.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
When asked if the truck's owner would also be made accused in the case, the OC said the statement from Fire Service does not include the owner's name. "But we will include him if his name comes up in the investigation."
While working with his colleagues to douse the fire at the secretariat, Noyon was fatally run over by a truck when he was crossing the street with a water hose on his shoulder, according to his colleagues. He was immediately rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where the on-duty doctor declared him dead.
One of the deceased's colleagues blamed the police for Noyon's death, saying the surrounding streets are supposed to be closed when a fire incident happens, but police failed to close the streets in front of the secretariat, resulting in the demise of the firefighter.
According to witnesses, the driver increased the speed of the truck to flee the scene after hitting Noyon. But students and the public, who were there to witness the fire situation at the secretariat, stopped the truck using a barricade in front of the Public Works Department office. They detained the two and handed them over to the police.
The crowd, agitated, wanted to beat the driver, but the army personnel brought the situation under control.
The fire at the secretariat broke out at 1:52am. It took 19 firefighting units around six hours to bring the flames under control and 10 hours to completely douse them.
