Worker arrested after rod from Dhaka expressway kills boy

A rod from the Elevated Expressway construction project pierced the boy’s head on Monday

A worker on the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project has been arrested after a case was filed over the death of a boy who was struck in the head with a rod from the construction site.

Md Hasan was arrested on Monday night, law enforcers said.

The boy has yet to be identified and no family has stepped forward to claim him, said SI Sekendar Ali of the Dhaka Railway Police Station. Assistant Manager Hasib Hassan, an official from the Elevated Expressway project, eventually took on the role of plaintiff in the case. The case accuses Hasan of negligence leading to the child’s death.

According to some other workers, Hasan threw down a couple of 4-foot-long rods with the intention of stealing them from the site. One of them struck the boy and pierced his head.

Law enforcers have not gathered any witness statements yet, said Ferdous Ahmed Biswas, chief of Dhaka Railway Police Station. Police are still treating the case as one of negligence, he said, but said they would investigate further.

Around 10 am on Monday, a rod from the Elevated Expressway project in Dhaka’s Mohakhali pierced the head of a child near the Mohakhali Rail Gate, according to Inspector Bachchu Mia of the Dhaka Medical Police Outpost. The boy died while receiving treatment at 12:45 pm.

The rod flew out from the construction site and pierced the boy’s head, according to Abdul Quader Emon, one of those who rescued the boy and brought him to the hospital.

Banani Police Sub Inspector Abdul Matin Biswas began an investigation of the scene and nearby areas once the incident was reported. The child was walking along the rail line towards Kamalapur when he was struck down between pillars number 286 and 287, he said.

Police are still working to identify him, but none of the locals could tell who he was, Biswas said. The child was wearing dirty clothes and had no shoes, so they suspect he may have been homeless. Though some have called him Sumon, there were no additional details.