A pall of grief descended on Badalgachi upazila of Naogaon on Tuesday after an eighth-grade student died reportedly after learning about the death of one of her teachers in a road accident earlier in the day.
The incident has left residents, teachers and students of Labonya Prova Pilot and Community Girls’ High School in shock.
Police and local sources said assistant teacher Kulsum Akter was killed and another teacher injured when a CNG-run auto-rickshaw collided head-on with a paddy-threshing machine at Chakrail Bottoli intersection in the upazila around noon.
As news of the accident spread on social media, Tasnim, a Class-VIII student of the school, reportedly became emotionally distressed after seeing posts about her teacher’s death on Facebook. Family members said she suddenly lost consciousness at home.
She was rushed to Badalgachi Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared her dead.
“My daughter saw the news of her teacher Kulsum Akter’s death on Facebook and immediately fainted,” said Tasnim’s father Abul Kalam. “We took her to the hospital, but doctors declared her dead after examination.”
Residential Medical Officer of the health facility Dr Asaduzzaman Nahid said the student might have collapsed following a sudden emotional shock.