Staff Reporter :
The High Court (HC) on Monday ordered to give Tk 5 lakh within one week as immediate compensation to each of the families of the two students who were killed in a road accident when a passenger bus losing its control struck them on road side in full speed on Airport Road in the city.
The owner of the bus ‘Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan’ will have to pay this.
Abdul Karim alias Rajib Uddin Rajib, 18, a student of class-XII, and Dia Khanam Mim, 17, an 11th grader of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College, were killed and at least 12 others received severe injuries on Sunday as a bus of the ‘Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan’ ran over them on the Airport Road adjacent to the Armed Forces Medical College in Dhaka’s Kurmitola area.
In response to a writ petition, the HC also ordered the Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan to bear all expenses for the treatment of the students who were injured in the accident.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has been asked to ensure the compliance of this order on the next hearing day fixed on August 12.
The HC bench of Justice J B M Hassan and Justice Md Khairul Alam passed this order and issued a rule after hearing a writ petition filed seeking compensation for the victimized families of the two students. The HC also formed a five-member expert committee headed by the Chief of Accident Research Institute of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) to assess who are responsible for the accident and the extent of compensation.
The committee has been asked to submit their assessment report to the HC in two months. The court ordered the BRTA and the Additional Commissioner (Traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police to assist the expert committee to do its assessment task. Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal, a Supreme Court lawyer, filed the writ petition with the HC as public interest litigation yesterday.
Home Secretary, Road Transport Secretary, IGP, DMP Commissioner, Additional Police Commissioner (Traffic), BRTA and owner of the ‘Jabal-E-Noor Paribahan’ were made respondents in the petition.
On May 8 this year, the HC following another writ petition filed by Barrister Ruhul Quddus had ordered the owners of two buses— BRTC and Swajan Paribahan— to pay Tk 1 crore to the family of Government Titumir College student Rajib Hossain who lost his right hand in a road accident and later died in April. But, the owners are yet to give the compensation following a stay order from the SC.
Following two separate petitions filed by Bangladesh Road and Transport Corporation (BRTC) and Swajan Paribahan, the SC on May 22 stayed the HC order and said that an independent committee will submit the assessment report to the HC and then the HC will pass order on compensation for the family members of Rajib.
The HC on May 30 formed a three-member committee headed by Professor Mowazzem Hossain, director of Accident and Research Institute for BUET to assess the liabilities and compensation issues in regard to the road accident in which Rajib was. The committee is working now, Ruhul Quddus Kazal said, adding that the HC is set to pass an order on August 1 (tomorrow) on this issue.
