Staff Reporter :
A writ petition was filed with the High Court (HC) on Tuesday seeking its directives to take action against a Joint Secretary and the ferryghat manager over the death of a teenage boy in an ambulance on a ferry after its departure was reportedly delayed by three hours for the secretary.
The writ also sought the HC’s directive on the government to give Tk 3 crore as compensation to the family of Titash Ghosh.
A rights organization named ‘Legal Support and People’s Right’, submitted the writ also requesting the HC to direct the government to take steps so that the ferries prioritise passing ambulances carrying critical patients.
In the petition, the organization appealed to the HC to order the government to conduct an inquiry into the incident of Titash’s death and to take appropriate legal action against the persons responsible for it.
Advocate Jahir Uddin Limon, Chairman of Legal Support and People’s Right, told the reporters that the HC is yet to fix time for holding hearing on the writ petition.
Jahir Uddin Limon said, the HC bench of Justice F R M Nazmul Ahasan and Justice K M Kamrul Kader is likely to hear it on Wednesday. Thirteen-year-old Titash Ghosh, a student of Kalia Pilot Secondary School in Narail, was critically injured in a motorbike accident in Narail on July 24 evening.
A day later, the doctors referred him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for an emergency operation.
The family with the child in an ambulance was coming to Dhaka and arrived at the Kathalbari Ferry Terminal in Munshiganj around 8:00 pm on July 25.
A ferry called “Ferry Cumilla” was already at the pontoon but it had its gate was closed and was not loading vehicles.
The family learnt that the ferry would be late as it was waiting for a Joint Secretary.
The ambulance which was on the pontoon could not reverse or go to another pontoon because of queues of vehicles.
The ferry started loading vehicles around 10:20 pm when the authorities learnt that the high official was close to the terminal.
Around 11:00 pm, the official arrived and the ferry started moving. Titash died on the ferry, family sources said.
