The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has rounded up Abu Bakar Siddique, owner of the sunken launch ML Pinak-6, from a residence at Agrabad Housing Society in Chittagong city.Director of Legal and Media Wing of the RAB Lt Col Mufti Mahmud Khan confirming the matter said that a joint team of RAB-7 and RAB-11 led by Commanding Officer of RAB-7 Lt Col Miftah Uddin Ahmed arrested the launch owner at about 3:30am on Wednesday.Earlier, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) filed a case with Louhajang Police Station in Munshiganj in connection with the launch disaster against six persons, including Abu Bakar and his employees of the launch.After the arrest, RAB officials brought him to the RAB Headquarters at Uttara, Dhaka and held a press conference. Thereafter he was produced before the journalists in Munshiganj the same day.Talking to the journalists, Abu Bakar blamed the authorities of the BIWTA and the lessees of three launch ghats (terminals) for the tragedy. Claiming himself ‘not guilty’, he said that the BIWTA controls launch operations for 10 days before and after the two Eids. “Although I am the owner of the launch, how can I know the number of passengers boarding into my launch when I do not stay at launch ghat,” he said.Blaming ghat lease holders, he also said, “We have to anchor our launches at Bangla Bazar and Kanthalbari ghats after leaving Kawrakandi. The lease holders force us to take passengers beyond capacity from the ghats.”Meanwhile, Mufti Mahmud Khan said that there was no adequate security facility and fitness of the launch that was made in 1991. Even, the launch’s prime master was driving the vessel without obtaining license. Abu Bakar bought the launch about six years ago at Tk 11 crore from one Moniruzzaman Khokon, inhabitant of Barisal. His eldest son Md Limon, 27, and nephew Ratul, 23, were in charge of its operation, he added. He also said that without following relevant rules, the launch owner was operating it being influenced by greed for more profit.Rejecting the claim of the RAB official, Abu Bakar said that he had all necessary papers to operate the launch and it had also fitness certificate. “The lease holders led by one Yakub Bopari force all launches to take about 60 to 70 extra passengers. They give a small amount of money in turn. They beat launch staff in case of refusing to execute their orders,” he said.The 60 year-old Abu Bakar went into hiding after the launch capsize. Pinak-6, a double-decker launch with a capacity of carrying 80 people, sank in the Padma River near the Mawa Ghat at Louhajang upazila in Munshiganj on August 4 with about 250 passengers on board. More than 100 passengers of the launch, which was sailing for Mawa from Kawrakandi, swam ashore. A total of 48 bodies were found. Of them 28 were identified and handed to their relatives, while 18 unclaimed bodies were buried at Madaripur municipality graveyard. Over 100 passengers remained missing although the local administration claimed the figure is only 61. The search operation was called off on August 11. Authorities once had declared that they found a ‘metallic object’ but the search operation was abandoned a day after the declaration.Meanwhile, a legal notice was issued seeking punishment for 10 officials of the BIWTA, including its Chairman, for the capsize of the launch and failure in the rescue operation.Supreme Court lawyer Enamul Haq Mollah sent the legal notice on behalf of Ashish Kumar Dey, convener of the National Committee for Protection of the Roads, Waterways and Railways, and Tushar Rehman, General Secretary of Citizen Rights Movement. In the legal notice, 72 hours time has been given for initiating the census to determine the real number of vehicles operating in the country’s waterways, enforcing mandatory registration for each transport or vehicles, and ensuring whether those have the fitness programme. The removal of the concerned officials was also demanded in the legal notice.
