Seventy-nine-year-old Firoza Begum left home on Friday morning intending to visit her daughter. However, she never reached her daughter’s home. She was critically injured in a road accident and later died while undergoing treatment at a hospital.
The accident occurred Friday morning in the Gopinathpur area of Shibganj upazila in Bogura. Firoza was crossing the Mokamtola-Joypurhat regional highway when a government vehicle carrying State Minister for Public Administration and Food Abdul Bari hit her. Following the collision, the vehicle lost control and ended up in a paddy field beside the road.
Local residents rescued Firoza after the accident and initially took her to a nearby hospital. She was later admitted to TMSS Medical College Hospital in Bogura, where she died at around noon on Friday while receiving treatment.
Firoza Begum was a resident of Gobindapur village in Shibganj upazila. Her husband, Nizamuddin Sarker, had died earlier. She had two sons and five daughters. Her eldest son, Ferdous Hossain, died several years ago, while her younger son, Selim Sarker, works in agriculture. All five of her daughters are married.
After her husband’s death, Firoza lived with her eldest son’s widow, Ripa Begum, and her younger son Selim’s wife, Reshma Begum. On Friday morning, she had been on her way to visit her eldest daughter, Shiri Begum, in Gujia village of Shibganj.
According to relatives, Firoza was crossing the highway to get onto an auto-rickshaw when she was struck by the government vehicle. Family members described the incident as an accident and said they have no complaints regarding the incident.
Reshma Begum, Firoza’s daughter-in-law, said Firoza had left home that morning after telling the family that she was going to visit her daughter. “But she never made it there. After the accident, her body will return home instead,” she said.
Ripa Begum, the widow of Firoza’s eldest son, was also devastated by her mother-in-law’s death. She said Firoza had been one of her greatest sources of support after her husband’s death.
Shibganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shahinuzzaman said legal procedures regarding the accident are underway. Firoza Begum’s burial is expected to take place after Friday prayers.