Staff Reporter :
Green Line Paribahan on Wednesday gave a cheque of only Tk five lakh to Russel Sarkar, who lost his left leg after a bus of the said paribahan hit him in the city’s Dolairpar area on April 28 last year.
Md Alauddin, the owner of Green Line Paribahan, handed over the cheque to Russel Sarkar inside the courtroom of the High Court.
Then the court said, “Russel’s treatment needs a lot of money. We asked them to pay Tk 50 lakh. Why is that so low?”
In reply, Green Line owner’s lawyer Oziullah said, “We have begged one month time. We will pay the rest step by step within this time.” Then the court said, “Not step-by-step; the rest of the money must be paid at once.”
Then the High Court bench of Justice F R M Nazmul Ahasan and Justice K M Kamrul Kader passed the order asking the Green Line Paribahan owner to pay the rest amount of Tk 45 lakh to Russel in one month time.
At the same time, the court ordered the bus company to take initiative for Russel’s treatment with their cost.
Earlier in the day, Md Alauddin told the court that he was suffering loss in the business and therefore, he cannot give more money to Russel Sarkar.
He also said that his elder son has become blind and his wife is suffering from kidney damage and prayed to the court to exonerate him from paying the compensation to Russel.
Md Alauddin appeared in the court after the same bench in the morning ordered the transport group to pay the compensation money to Russel by 3:00 pm yesterday.
After appearing in the court, the bus owner said that he could not pay money earlier as per the court’s order as he was ill.
The court expressed deep dissatisfaction saying that Russel was a daily worker before losing his leg under a bus of a private company, but the Green Line Paribahan did not compensate him although it is running its business.
On April 4, the HC ordered Green Line Paribahan to pay Tk 50 lakh to Russel by April 10, saying that it would pass an order for confiscation of buses if the transport company did not pay the money within the given time.
The HC also asked the company not to sell tickets for April 11 (tomorrow) if it failed to pay the money.
The victim, Russel, along with his wife and one kid were present in the court during the hearing.
On March 12, the High Court ordered Green Line Paribahan to pay the compensation to Russel Sarkar within 14 days.
Green Line Paribahan authority appealed to the Supreme Court against the HC order. But the four-member bench led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain on March 31 upheld the HC order and the HC on the same day revised its order and asked the company to pay the compensation money by Wednesday April 3.
On May 14 last year, the High Court issued a rule asking as to why private car driver Russel, 23, should not get Tk one crore as compensation.
Green Line was asked to respond to the rule within four weeks.
Russel, 26, a car driver of a power company, lost his leg below the knee after he was knocked down by the bus near the Mayor Hanif Flyover in the capital’s Dholaipar on April 4 last year.
The bus driver had an altercation with him and ran over Russel as he chased down the bus.
Russel was first taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with a severed leg, and transferred to Square Hospitals and later to Apollo Hospitals.
After being informed, police impounded the bus and detained Kabir from near the National Press Club. However, Kabir is now on bail in the case filed over the incident.
