Sagar Biswas :The breath-taking rescue operation ended when Zihad, the four-year old boy, was found dead on Saturday afternoon, almost 23 hours after he had fallen into 600-feet long abandoned deep tube well shaft next to a playground at Shahjahanpur Railway Colony in the city.The doctors declared him dead after he was taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital [DMCH] at around 3:45pm. Resident Physician of the hospital Riaz Morshed said Zihad had died around three to four hours before his body was recovered by local volunteers. Zihad’s body was brought out from the well by local volunteers soon after the fire service chief declared that the rescue operation suspended as there was no trace of human body inside the well. The volunteers made a round-shape iron cage where a close-circuit camera was also attached in order to trace out the boy inside the tube. It was a simple handmade tool made by three volunteers ultimately succeeded to bring the child out. But it was a belated attempt. The rescuers, all employees of Icon Company at Mirpur, made the iron cage led by Md Faruk to conduct the rescue operation. The others were Abu Bakar Siddique, Abdul Kader Chowdhury and Andul Majid. Team leader Faruk said they could make the rescue operation on Friday night, but they did not get clearance. The instrument was made with a net, a close circuit camera, a torch, a tri-stand and a cleat tied to a 600-feet-long rope. They also volunteered at Rana Plaza rescue operation in Savar last year. The volunteers started operation after the Fire Service and Civil Defense (FSCD) authorities declared postponement of the operation. They found Zihad from underneath a floating object like a cork sheet. The body of Zihad was hooked into the net with the instrument. The entire operation was conducted getting footage through the close circuit (CC) camera.”When I saw in the television that the boy could be rescued by the FSCD, I went to the spot with the iron cage at about 12:10am. We tried to rescue the victim by sending the cage on Friday night. But we failed. The cage was partially broken. I repaired the cage in the night. Later, two cages were sent in the well on Saturday afternoon. We found that some object was hooked with the cage. We pulled up the cage slowly and Zihad was brought out finally,” the volunteer team leader Faruk said. Earlier at 2:40pm, Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defence Brigadier General Ali Ahmed Khan announced the operation abandoned after the rescuers failed to detect a human body inside the well.”We have tried several times. But we could not detect the location of the boy. The experts of different organisations also could not find any specific evidence in this regard. We, however, continued the rescue operation following the request of parents of the child,” he said.”The railway engineers will take charge of rescue operation and the fire fighters will help them if necessary. We express our gratitude to all for their efforts,” the DG said.It was learnt that the fire service was compelled to continue the rescue operation till Saturday afternoon being severely pressured by the local people, although State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan had termed the incident a ‘rumour’ saying that no one was trapped inside the abandoned well.The FSCD started the rescue operation when Zihad’s father Nasir Uddin said his son fell into the deep pipe while playing with his friends at around 3.30pm on Friday. A combined rescue team, comprising the members of FSCD and Dhaka WASA began rescue operations with the help of law enforcing agencies on Friday evening.The rescuers made several attempts to bring the boy out of the well using a rope as it was not possible for them to send a rescuer inside the 17-inch wide well. They said there was a shaft at the bottom of the well, about two inches thick and the boy could not have fallen from there.The fire fighters also sent food and water for Zihad and said they had also ensured oxygen supply. Thousands of local thronged the area while several television stations broadcast the rescue efforts live. There was a widespread speculation about the incident being a hoax. The rescuers had lowered a borehole camera around 250 feet down the pipe, looking for the child for an hour without success.At one stage, FSCD Assistant Director Md Halim said, “There is no victim down below… We have nothing more to do here. We are assisting the locals in their traditional methods.” In the meanwhile, Shahjahanpur police had taken Jihad’s father Nasiruddin, who works as a security guard at the Motijheel School and College, into custody after 3:00am and is yet to release him.”He is in our custody for security concerns. He will remain with us until the situation returns to normal,” Motijheel Police Additional Deputy Commissioner Anwar Hossain said.Jihad was the youngest of his parents’ three children. His mother Khadiza Begum along with her husband Nasiruddin lives at house No. 41 in the railway colony. One of the neighbours informed them that Jihad had fallen into the well while playing with his friends. But no one had claimed having seen Zihad fall into the pipe. However, Zihad’s body was brought out from the well – claimed the volunteers. But there is no camera evidence of the body recovery operation inside the well. Questions have been raised from where his body has been recovered? How it was done so quickly only a few minutes after the FSCD abandoned the rescue operation? Why there was nothing visible though the trained operators of FSCD tried to rescue the ill-fated boy in presence of a dozen of live television cameras? And the boy was dead! Several witness also raised questions why the body of Zihad was tied with nylon rope when he was brought out from the well? A bundle of nylon rope is seen beside his body in the some still photographs. If the well is 600-feet depth, it means it is about 60-storey building’s height. Is it really possible to remain alive a four-year child falling in such a deep and dark well? Moreover, there was tremendous cold inside and outside the pipe.Where all the trained and skilled operators failed, the armatures made the history? When the FSCD, BUET and WASA engineers with their latest equipment and camera could not find any headway, the volunteers showed the way with homemade technique? Logic says, if a four-year child falls in a 17-inch diameter pipe from 600-feet above, he will die just within an hour due to lack of oxygen. But the local people and also the rescuers had heard his voice! They sent food and drinks from the victim! The victim responded to their signal! So, questions also have been raised, why such gossips had been spread and for whose interest? Especially, the role of State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was highly criticized as he had earlier termed the incident [fell of Zihad] a hoax. It is learnt that the state minister went to see the body of Zihad before the victim’s family members could saw him. This move also had raised questions about the role of home ministry in relation with the incident. Meanwhile, the Railway authorities at last sealed the mouth of the abandoned pipe of deep tube-well in which the four-year-old boy Zihad was fallen trapped and killed.Railway Minister Mujibul Hoque has said that the deep well was operated by the railway authorities. There was no relation with WASA with the well. There are several hundred such tube wells in city outside the jurisdictions of WASA and these are called “private pumps’.But he did not answer why the concerned official will not be arrested for such crime to keep open an abandoned well. And why the railway DG would not face criminal charge for keeping open the deadly well for last one and half year? Meanwhile, the local people became agitated soon after the volunteers brought out the body of Zihad from the pipe. Hundreds of angry locals brought out procession chanting slogans demanding exemplary punishment of responsible officials in the administration. The agitated mob also ransacked some public establishments at that time.Meanwhile, the Authorities of Bangladesh Railway (BR) on Saturday formed a three-member committee to investigate the incident of Shahjahanpur.The body, led by Dhaka Divisional Engineer-3 of BR, has been as ked to submit its report within 24 hours. Other members of the body are two executive engineers of BR’s Dhaka Division.
