Internationally acclaimed film director Tareque Masud, who won an award at the Cannes Film Festival, ATN News chief executive officer Ashfaque Mishuk Munier and three others died as a microbus carrying them collided head-on with a bus on the Dhaka-Aricha Road at Ghior in Manikganj on Saturday.
Tareque's US-born wife Catherine Masud, also a film producer, Chittagong University's fine arts teacher Dhali Al Mamun and his wife painter Dilara Begum
Jolly were injured in the accident. They were being treated in Square Hospitals in the capital.
The hospital was thronged by relatives, fans and well-wishers, along with cultural activists.
The director of medical service at Square Hospitals, Sanwar Hossain, in the evening said that Dhali Al Mamun had sustained serious injuries in the chest and neck but Catharine Masud was out of danger.
Tareque's production members said that he, along with his film-making team, were coming back after inspecting a shooting location in Manikganj for a new film named Kagajer Phul (Paper Flower).
Microbus driver Mustafizur Rahman and two production assistants, Jamaluddin and Wasim, were the other fatalities in the accident.
Masud's assistant Rafiq Monis, who survived the accident, said that both Tareque and Mishuk had died instantly.
The Ghior police officer-in-charge, Raisuddin, told New Age that the microbus carrying Tareque and his team collided head-on with a bus headed for Chuadanga about 12:15pm, and five of them were killed on the spot.
'A case has been filed in this regard,' he said.
The communications ministry set up a three-member committee, headed by Roads and Highways Department supervising engineer (Dhaka circle) Arifur Rahman, to investigate the accident.
The committee has been asked to report in seven days, an official concerned said.
Other members of the committee are RHD supervising engineer (road safety) Kamrul Haque and executive engineer of the Roads and Highways Department in Manikganj Sabuj Uddin Khan.
After the accident, the bus driver sped up and stopped the vehicle at Pukuria, 40- 50 yards off the spot.
'They left the bus with passengers and fled,' Raisuddin said.
Seizing the bus later, the police helped the stranded passengers to board buses for Paturia.
The bus, which lost its windshield broken, was taken to the Borongail police outpost.
The New Age correspondent in Kushtia said that the bus driver, Jamir Uddin, 50, is from Daulatdia in the Chuadanga district headquarters.
The bodies of the five deceased at first kept in Manikganj General Hospital but were later sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital about 4:30pm.
Medical officer Pabitra Kumar at the Manikganj hospital said that the bodies were sent to DMCH after post-mortem. The bodies reached the DMCH about 7:45pm.
The Sammilita Sangskritik Jote president, Nasiruddin Yousuff, told New Age that the bodies would be taken to the Central Shaheed Minar at 10:30am today for public viewing.
Mishuk's body will also be kept at the ATN News office at 8:30am today.
Their namaj-e-janaza would be held after the zuhr prayers at the Dhaka University mosque, he said.
But the matters of burial will be decided once Catherine recovers and Mishuk's brother returns from abroad, he added.
The body of Tareque was taken to his sister's house at Farmgate and of Mishuk to his house at Banani from the DMCH.
Tareque is survived by his wife and 15-month-old son Nishad Masud. He was born at Bhanga in Faridpur and was a student of history in Dhaka University.
Tareque's film Matir Moina (The Clay Bird) was the first Bangladeshi film to be nominated in the international film category at the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, and it also won the FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique International Federation of Film Critics) prize for directors' fortnight at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.
Banned by the government in May 2002, it was the first film from Bangladesh to go on general release in the United Kingdom.
Masud's first film was a documentary titled 'Adam Surat' (Inner Strength) on the Bangladeshi painter SM Sultan which he completed in 1989.
One of his revolutionary works is another documentary titled 'Muktir Gaan' (The Song of Freedom, 1995). In the film, the camera follows a music troupe during the independence war of Bangladesh in 1971.
Along with his American wife, Catherine, who is his co-director and film editor, they have a film production house, based in Dhaka, named Audiovision.
Masud later made 'Ontarjatra' (The Homeland) in 2006, 'Runway' in 2010, 'A Kind of Childhood' in 2002, 'Narir Kotha' in 2000, 'Muktir Kotha' (Words of Freedom) in 1999, 'In the Name of Safety' in 1998, 'Voices of Children' and 'She' in 1993.
His films were screened in many international and national film festivals and won several awards.
Munier is son of the martyred intellectual Munier Chowdhury and was a former teacher of mass communications and journalism in Dhaka University.
He took charge of ATN News in November 2010, having previously worked with The Real News, a Canada and US-based television news and documentary network.
Born in 1959, Mishuk had worked as videographer for the British Broadcasting Corporation in different south-east Asian countries. He had worked as the head of news at the country's first private terrestrial television channel Ekushey Television.
He was the chief videographer of Tareque Masud's film 'Runway'.
The president, Zillur Rahman, the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, the leader of opposition in parliament, Khaleda Zia, the finance minister, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, the information minister, Abul Kalam Azad, the communications minister, Syed Abul Hossain, and the Jatiya Party chairman, Hussain Mohammad Ershad, expressed their shock at the death of Tareque, Munier and three others and said that their death was an irreparable loss for the country's film and television industries.
The foreign affairs minister, Dipu Moni, visited Munier's home at Banani.
Zillur in his condolence message prayed for the salvation of the departed souls and conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved families.
He said that Masud and Munier's death had deprived the country of a renowned and talented filmmaker and a highly skilled communicator.
Hasina expressed her shock at the deaths and prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls, and conveyed her sympathy to the bereaved families.
Khaleda, also the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, in her message said that Tareque had revealed the various anomalies in society in his quality films and the gap left by his death could not be filled easily.
She said that Munier had shown his outstanding talent through his creativity in the domain of the media which would be remembered by the nation with respect.
The leaders also prayed for the early recovery of Catherine and two others who were injured in the accident.
Leaders of the Awami League, Workers Party of Bangladesh, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Ganashanghati Andolan, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh Juba Maitree, Juba Union, Chhatra Maitree, Chhatra Union, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, Kendriya Khelaghar Asar, Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies, Dhaka University Film Society, Sangstkriti Mancha, Samageet Sangskriti Prangan and Ranesh Das Gupta Chalachchitra Sangsad expressed shock at the untimely death of Masud and Munier.
Source : New Age