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Four people, along with a bulkhead, have been detained in connection with the deaths of three school students who drowned while bathing in the Meghna River in Sonargaon, Narayanganj.
They were detained from the Baidyerbazar area on Sunday night on allegations of negligence resulting in death, said Alamgir Hossain, superintendent of Narayanganj River Police.
The detainees were identified as Md Habibur Rahman, 45, helmsman of the bulkhead MB Sonargaon Madina-4; greaser Md Abu Zafar, 35; and lascar Ebadul Howladar, 25, and Md Sifat, 19. The bulkhead is owned by Messrs Roni Enterprise, whose owners are Mohammad Hossain Mia and Sujit Kumar Saha.
River Police Inspector Ruhul Amin said the three students were bathing near the bulkhead, which was anchored in the Meghna River in the Bhati Bandar area of Pirojpur Union, on Sunday.
When the bulkhead’s engine was started, it reportedly created a strong whirlpool in the water. A woman managed to pull one student to safety, but the other three were swept underwater.
The bodies were later recovered by divers from the Fire Service.
The deceased were twin brothers Arefin Ahmed and Ashekhin Ahmed, both 15, sons of Mohammad Faruk, and Abid Hossain, 14, son of Abdul Alim. All three were students of Mogorapara HGG Sriti Government School.
The bodies of the two brothers were buried at the Bari Majlish social cemetery after a funeral prayer at the Bari Majlish Hafezia Madrasa field. Abid’s body was taken to his village home in Khulna for burial.
Inspector Ruhul Amin said the father of the twins, Mohammad Faruk, would file a case over the deaths. Legal proceedings against the four detainees and the bulkhead were being prepared on charges of negligence resulting in death.
Earlier, Fire Service Assistant Deputy Director Abdullah Al Arefin said the students might have drowned after being struck by the bulkhead’s propeller.