Auranga killed in Munshiganj crash

Five people, including former Juba League leader Hemayet Ullah Auranga, have been killed in a road accident in Munshiganj, police say.

The mishap took place on the Dhaka-Mawa Highway at Medenipur Khanbari around 3:30pm Saturday.

Auranga, 57, is widely known as top flight Juba League organiser during the 1970-80s but later joined the BNP.

Louhajang police OC Zakiur Rahman told bdnews24.com that an SUV tyre burst caused the accident. The driver lost control and collided with a Dhaka-bound bus coming from the opposite direction killing the former Shariatpur MP and four others on the spot.

Others killed were identified as – BNP youth front Juba Dal Assistant General Secretary Nuruzzaman Khan, Swechchhasebak Dal Assistant Office Secretary Musni Jamal Uddin, activists Nuruddin Peda and Nuruzzaman, and Juba Dal leader Md Yasin.

Two of the injured had been sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Nuruzzaman succumbed to his injuries.

The wounded and the dead were all passengers of the SUV.

Auranga’s wife and children rushed to Munshiganj on hearing the news.

Traffic on the road came to halt for over an hour and resumed after the SUV was removed.

Police have confiscated the bus.

Auranga, in 1991, contested on an Awami League ticket from Shariatpur-1 and was elected Member of Parliament.

He did not receive a nomination from the party in 2001 and won the seat after contesting the poll as an independent candidate.

He joined BNP before the 2008 election, but lost to late Awami League leader Abdur Razzak.

He was well known during his time in Juba League in the 1980s, with his name figuring in factional clashes of the Awami League front in Dhaka University.

In 2002, he was detained during the ‘Operation Clean Heart’ but was released soon after.

Auranga, somewhat inactive in recent politics, used to spend most of his time at his Kathalbagan residence in Dhaka.

He was a member of BNP’s central committee as well as the Shariatpur district unit.

Seven-day mourning has been announced in his district.