A young student who died after jumping into the Turag river while being chased by a crowd after setting a fire on bus in Dhaka's Mirpur was allegedly lured with Tk 5,000 for the arson attack, police said.

The incident took place around 10:10pm near the Mirpur Zoo area along the Beribadh road beside the Turag river, where the bus was parked.

The deceased was identified as Abdullah Al Sayad, 18, a second-year college student.

His friend, Rudro Mohammad Amir Sani, 18, an O-level student, was caught by locals and handed over to police.

Police also said a third youth, aged 18-19, was also involved in the incident, without providing details.

Assistant Commissioner Emdad Hossain of DMP (Darus Salam zone) told The Daily Star that the three were promised money to set the bus on fire.

"Interrogation of the arrestee revealed that a local Awami League leader promised them Tk 5,000 to set fire to a vehicle anywhere within the Dhaka-14 constituency," he said.

A case has been filed naming Amir Sani in connection with the incident, the AC added.

According to police and witnesses, on Thursday night, a Kiranmala Paribahan bus parked at the Mirpur Beribadh area was set on fire.

Locals chased the youths, catching Amir Sani, while Abdullah fled by jumping into the Turag river. His body was later recovered around 10:30pm.

The post-mortem examination of Abdullah was conducted at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College.

Hospital sources said his family from Uttara collected the body today.