Staff Reporter :Two separate writ petitions were filed with the High Court seeking its directives on the government to give adequate compensation to the family of four-year-old Jihad, who died after falling into an abandoned well shaft in Dhaka on Friday.The petitioners prayed to the HC to direct the authorities to take appropriate legal action against the officials whose negligence resulted in the tragic and shocking death of Jihad.Rights organisation Children’s Charity Bangladesh Foundation (CCBF) and Supreme Court lawyer Syed Mayeenul Huq submitted the petitions as public interest litigation also seeking several other directives from the court on the government authorities over the incident. CCBF urged the HC to issue a rule upon the authorities to explain why they should not be directed to give compensation of Tk 30 lakh to the family of Jihad for gross negligence and violation of human rights and right to life guaranteed by the constitution.It prayed to the court to seek explanation from the government as to why it should not be directed to file a murder case against the director general of Fire Service and Civil Defence and its director (operation and maintenance); director-general of Bangladesh Railway and managing director of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) for their alleged negligence and failure to rescue Jihad.The CCBF urged the court to issue a rule upon the government to explain as to why it should not be ordered to make a list of pipes, wells, tube wells, sewerage pipes, holes and water tanks left uncared or uncovered or unsafe throughout the country under their jurisdiction and submit the list to the court in two months.The organisation requested the HC to ask the authorities to give proper honour, appreciation and prize to local volunteers– Anwar Hossain, Nur Mohammad Litu, Abu Bakr Siddique Bablu, Shafiqul Islam, Faroque and Kabir Murad Bhuiyan, who rescued the body of Jihad within 15 minutes after the abandonment of the rescue operation by the government officials, and to invite them to explain their simple device to be shown to the officials concerned so that they may learn about simple devices for emergency rescuing and life saving.Syed Mayeenul Huq in his petitions appealed to the HC to order the government to form a high powered expert committee including the local volunteers to probe the reasons for the failure of the officials to rescue Jihad.He also prayed to the court to ask the government to take appropriate legal steps against the police personnel, who detained Jihad’s father Nasir Fakir for around 12 hours in Shahjahanpur Police Station on Saturday.His lawyer Ruhul Quddus Kazal told The Daily Star that the HC may hear the petition within few days.
