Roni Antony & John Wilbert
Port Blair, Dec 11: In a tragic accident this morning Maulana Abdul Rashid, 54 years, S/o Aseem Muddin, Chief Imam of Phoenix Bay Graveyard Mosque, died on the spot after a private bus hit his two-wheeler from behind, at Junglighat area.
According to the reports, Maulana Abdul Rashid of Phoenix Bay Mosque, was going towards Golghar from Junglighat with his wife in his Two Wheeler but when he reached in Opposite of TCI Building, a private bus with high speed came from behind and after overtaking another bus, hit his two wheeler.
When bus hit the two-wheeler, the wife of Maulana fell on the left side while Maulana fell on the right side, directly under the tyres of the bus.
The bus reportedly ran over the Chief Imam, which resulted in his spot death. Angry people gathered near the bus and expressed their anger by throwing stones on the bus and breaking glasses.
Later, the body was taken to GB Pant Hospital for postmortem and a case has been registered in this regard against the driver.
This incident has once again raised the issue of irresponsible driving by some private bus drivers and the blind rush for getting more and more passengers.
People of Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been demanding since last several years for fixing a speed limit of all the private buses inside Municipal area.
Some other people are demanding to ban private buses inside busy areas of Port Blair city and suggesting running battery operated autos inside the tiny bazaar area, instead of buses.
There are also demands for providing separate lane for private buses to minimize accidents like this. There are many suggestions but sadly none of these suggestions were ever discussed by Administration, forget about considering the demands.
As per family members, the Maulana had gone out for inviting relatives for his daughter’s marriage, which is due in coming days.
