Distracted Schoolboy Killed by Train While on Mobile Phone

A tragic accident in Laksam, Comilla, has claimed the life of a 16-year-old schoolboy who was struck by a speeding train while distracted by his mobile phone. The fatal incident occurred along the busy Dhaka-Chittagong rail route, serving as a grim reminder of the growing dangers of processing phone calls and using electronic devices near active railway tracks. Shahriar Naim Joy, a tenth-grade student at Laksam Pilot Government High School, died instantly at the scene.

Joy, the son of Md Jahangir Alam, was a resident of Uttarkul village in Ward 9 of Laksam Municipality. According to eyewitness accounts, the incident unfolded just after dusk near the Satbaria level crossing. The teenager was positioned between two main railway lines, roughly 150 yards south of the crossing, deeply engrossed in a mobile conversation.

Caught Between Two Oncoming Trains

The sequence of events turned catastrophic when the Chittagong-bound Nasirabad Express approached on the down line. Attempting to step away from the path of the incoming locomotive, Joy moved onto the adjacent up line to give the vehicle a wide berth.

Tragically, his movement placed him directly in the path of the Dhaka-bound flagship intercity service, the Sonar Bangla Express, which was steaming down the tracks at high speed. The train struck the schoolboy with immense force, throwing him several yards into the air before his body came to rest beside the tracks.

A local shopkeeper who witnessed the entire sequence described how he frantically tried to avert the disaster. Seeing the dangerous positioning of the boy and the imminent arrival of the Sonar Bangla Express, the shopkeeper shouted out warnings at the top of his voice to get the teenager’s attention. However, because Joy had his mobile phone pressed tightly to his ear, the desperate warnings went entirely unheard.

Briefing From Railway Authorities

Following the collision, local residents discovered the bloodied body lying beside the track bed. Before emergency services or railway police could establish a cordon, traumatised family members arrived at the scene and took the teenager’s remains back to their village home.

Md Jasim Uddin Khondakar, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Laksam Railway Police Station, confirmed that official channels alerted his department around 12:30 am. A police unit arrived at the victim’s residence an hour later, at roughly 1:30 am, only to find that the family had already completed the burial rituals and interred the body.

This is not an isolated tragedy for the area. Disturbed local residents noted that a young man named Raihan was recently run over and killed by a train at the exact same spot. Community members are now urgently appealing to the public—particularly the local youth—to refrain from using mobile phones, wearing headphones, or walking carelessly anywhere near the railway tracks to prevent further unnecessary loss of life.