Bus owner held over Akifa’s death

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in a drive on Sunday arrested the owner of 'Ganj-e-raj Paribahan' bus from Faridpur in connection with the death of one-year-old Akifa, who was hit by the bus in Kushtia on 28 August.

Tipped off, a team of Rab-8 arrested bus-owner Jainal Abedin from his residence in Jhiltuli area in the morning, said Mohammad Raisuddin, commanding officer of Rab-8.

Akifa, a one-year-old daughter of Haruur Rashid, died of head injuries on 30 August, at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

She was critically injured after she fell from her mother Rina Khatun's lap when the two was hit by the bus in Kushtia on 28 August.

They were first taken to General Hospital in the town from where Afifa was referred to the DMCH for better treatment.

Later on 31 August, Akifa's father filed a case against three people, including the bus owner, with Kushtia police station.

The other two accused -- the driver of the bus and the driver's assistant-- went into hiding after the accident.

The video footage of the incident went viral on the social networking site Facebook, sparking uproar among locals.