A 35-year-old customs officer was killed in a road accident in Feni on Sunday night, just a day before he was due to accompany his family to see a prospective bride.
Abdul Alim, an Assistant Revenue Officer working at Sylhet Customs, was returning home from his workplace after taking leave to attend the family’s marriage preparations. His parents had been looking for a suitable bride for their only son, and the family had planned to visit a prospective bride’s home on Monday.
That plan never materialised. Alim died when the passenger bus carrying him overturned in the Lalpol area of Feni at around 8pm on Sunday.
Alim’s ancestral home was in Korehat of Mirsarai, Chattogram. After his father, a former Forest Department employee, retired, the family built a new home in Baraiyarhat Municipality, where his parents had been living.
According to witnesses, the bus was travelling at high speed behind a lorry. The lorry reportedly braked suddenly, leaving the bus driver with little time to respond. The driver subsequently lost control of the vehicle. The bus mounted the central road divider and overturned.
Alim died at the scene. At least 10 other passengers were injured in the crash.
His body was recovered and taken to Mohipal Highway Police Station. After confirming his identity, police informed his family. His father, Mohammad Abdul Quader, rushed to the station to receive his son’s body.
Relatives said Quader was devastated when he arrived. He was reportedly unable to speak to police officers and could only weep as he confronted the loss of his only son. Alim’s maternal cousins Harunur Rashid and Ariful Islam were with him and handled the necessary arrangements with the police.
The family eventually left for home with Alim’s body at around 3am.
Ariful Islam said Alim had no brother and had only one sister, who had married seven or eight years ago. As the family’s only son, Alim had remained particularly close to his parents. His father had previously lived in Chattogram city because of his government service, before settling in Baraiyarhat after retirement.
The family had recently begun actively searching for a bride for Alim. His leave from work had been arranged specifically so that he could return home and take part in the planned visit to see a prospective bride.
The circumstances made his sudden death particularly painful for the family. Instead of preparing for a wedding, his parents were forced to make arrangements for their son’s funeral within hours.
Harunur Rashid said Alim’s father had hoped to organise his son’s wedding with great celebration. Following the accident, however, he was left virtually speechless with grief. Alim’s mother also repeatedly lost consciousness after receiving the news.
His funeral prayer and burial were held at his maternal grandparents’ home in Shubhpur, under Chhagalnaiya upazila of Feni, on Monday afternoon.
Sub-Inspector Kabir Hossain of Mohipal Highway Police Station said Alim’s relatives had requested permission to bury the body without a post-mortem examination. Following their application, police handed the body over to the family.
Police said the bus involved in the accident had been taken into custody. The lorry that was reportedly travelling ahead of the bus, however, could not be found at the scene. Officers said efforts were under way to identify the vehicle and take appropriate legal action.
The accident has once again highlighted the potentially devastating consequences of speed, sudden braking and loss of control on busy highways. For Alim’s family, however, the crash has transformed what was expected to be a joyful period of wedding preparations into an unimaginable tragedy.
