Police have identified the car involved in the hit-and-run incident late Tuesday, which left a man killed on the Mohakhali flyover in Dhaka.
The vehicle with the license plate ‘Dhaka Metro Ga 13-7655’ has been traced to one Kamrunnahar Sheuly, wife of ruling party MP from Noakhali-4 Ekramul Karim Chowdhury.
Sheuly serves as the chairman for Kabirhat Upazila in the southeastern district.
Witnesses said the couple’s son Shabab was driving the car when it ran over a 45-year-old man on the Mohakhali flyover.
Police said the victim has been identified as Selim Bepari from Barishal, who used to work as a chauffeur for a private organisation based at the Mohakhali DOHS.
Kafrul Police OC Sikdar Md Shamim Hossain said the accident took place around 10:30pm at the Banani-end of the flyover. “He was hit by a car on the flyover and died on the spot,” he told Bangla Tribune.
Police have started a case over the incident the same night, where it said the licence plate of the car involved in the hit-and-run was Dhaka Metro Ga 13-7655.
Soon after the car hit Selim and fled from the scene at least two people followed the vehicle— one on a motorcycle and the other with his car.
Shamim Ashraf chased the vehicle with his car until it entered the NAM flat premises for lawmakers near the national parliament.
“A motorcycle was just behind the car, when it hit the man. The rider immediately started to chase the speeding car and screamed for help, when I started to follow them on my car,” he told Bangla Tribune.
Shamim said he entered the NAM premises following the motorcycle and the car involved in the hit-and-run incident.
“As soon as it entered the NAM premises, a young man came out from the driving seat and yelled, ‘This is my territory. Let’s see what you can do.’ An argument broke between us, when several other people gathered, who was calling the young man by Shabab. The building supervisors and the Ansar members told us Shabab was the son of MP Ekram Chowdhury,” he told Bangla Tribune before adding that the authorities forced them to leave the premises.
Shamim claimed that Shabab forced the motorcycle rider to delete video footages taken during the altercation.
He said the vehicle Shabab was driving is an Audi SUV. “I am 100 percent sure that he was Noakhali-4 MP Ekramul Haque Chowdhury’s son Shabab. Besides that, the young man identified himself after entering the NAM flat premises.”
An officer with the Kafrul Police station, asking not to be named, said that they have confirmed that the Audi SUV was registered to MP Ekram’s wife Sheuly.
Kaful OC Hossain, however, said the inquiry was still on and details will be provided to the media later.
MP Ekramul has been allotted Flat 602 of Building 5 at the NAM complex, according to Sajjad Hossain, who works at the reception of the complex.
“But they don’t live here and sometimes drop by. But I heard his son Shabab was here last night. We do not have to work in the night,” he told Bangla Tribune Wednesday afternoon.
Md Nazrul was one of the watchmen posted Tuesday night.
“Sometime after 10pm, we spotted MP Ekram’s son and their chauffeurs in an argument with several people on the driveway between buildings 4 and 5,” he told Bangla Tribune before adding that he found the SUV’s front end damaged and was told that it was involved in an accident with a bus.
“The MP’s son along with his staff assaulted the man on the motorcycle before snatching his mobile phone” said watchman Nazrul.
According to him, MP Ekramul lives with his family in Dhanmondi and that his aides and chauffeurs live in the NAM flat.
Victim Selim, who hailed from Barishal, used to work as a chauffeur.
“The police have been able to obtain the car’s (license plate) number. So, we believe those responsible will be traced,” his son-in-law Arif Bhuiyan told Bangla Tribune.
Members of the victim’s family, asking not to be named, said that the MP’s family have already got in touch with them for a settlement and asked not to file a complaint with the police.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police said they were aware of the matter.
“We are working on the issue. The car’s number was found and the details have been obtained from the BRTA (Bangladesh Road Transport Authority),” Deputy Commissioner Masud Ahmmad told Bangla Tribune.
“No one is above the law,” he added.
Despite several attempts, MP Ekram or his wife Kamrunnahar Sheuly could not be reached over phone for a comment.