Driver, assistant of truck that hit firefighter Nayan arrested

Nayan died after being taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with injuries from the accident, police say

Police have arrested driver Belal Hossain Sumon and his assistant Farhad – identified by a single name - from the truck that rammed firefighter Md Shoyanur Zaman Nayan as he attempted to tame the flames of a fire at the Secretariat.

Shahbagh Police Station chief Mohammad Khalid Mansur said a mob had nabbed the two and handed them over to police as they attempted to flee the scene after their speeding truck ran over Nayan early on Wednesday morning.

The process of filing a case against 35-year-old truck driver Sumon and 20-year-old Farhad is underway, the OC said.

Talha Bin Jashim, an official with the Fire Service, said a fire was reported in Building No. 7 of the Secretariat at 1:52am. Firefighters rushed to the spot within two minutes and began efforts to control the blaze.

Initially, eight units were dispatched to the scene and another 11 later joined the firefighting efforts later. A total of 19 Fire Service units brought the blaze under control around 8:05am on Thursday.

Nayan was crossing the road in an attempt to connect a water pipe when he was rammed by a truck and critically injured. The truck then rushed off.

Nayan was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where an on-duty doctor declared him dead.

Brig Gen Muhammad Jahed Kamal, director general of the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence, later announced at a press briefing at 6:45am that Nayan had died.

“He died after he was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with injuries,” he said.

According to witnesses, the students and the people present there stopped the truck with barricades as it attempted to speed off after hitting Nayan. When the crowds handed the two detainees over to law enforcers at the scene, Shahbagh police took them into custody.

Inspector Md Faruk, the DMCH Police Outpost chief, said, “Fire Service worker Nayan was taken to the hospital’s emergency ward at 3:40am, where doctors declared him dead. His body has been kept at the hospital morgue for autopsy."

Nayan's colleague Shafiqul Islam, who took him to the hospital, said: "A truck rammed Nayan while he was crossing the road with a water hose on his shoulder after the agency’s car was parked on the road outside the Secretariat. When he fell, the rear wheel of the truck ran over his head."

The Fire Service said that though his main workplace was the Biswanath Fire Station in Sylhet, he was recently put on duty at the Tejgaon Fire Station.

Nayan joined the Fire Service as part of the 61st Batch in 2022. He hailed from Atpania village in Rangpur’s Mithapukur. The 24-year-old was the younger of two siblings.

Fire Service official Talha said, “Nayan's funeral will be held at the Fire Service headquarters after Zuhr prayers. Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury will attend the event."