Staff Reporter :
A writ petition has been filed with the High Court (HC) seeking its order on the government to give Tk 30 lakh as compensation to the family of five-year old boy Nirob, who died after falling into an uncovered manhole in the capital.
Lawyer Abdul Halim of Children’s Charity Foundation of Bangladesh (CCFB), a rights organization, on Sunday filed the petition as public interest litigation also seeking several other directives from the court on the government authorities over the incident.
The directives include compensation to Nirob’s family, information of tubewells, drains, sewerage lines and manholes under the Dhaka City Corporations, the authority of the manhole in which Nirob fell into and the steps taken by the Officer-in-Charge of Kadamtali Police Station after the death of Nirob.
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 tubewells, sewerage pipes and uncovered manhole and drains under their jurisdiction and submit the list to the court within a month.
Twelve have been named as defendants in the petition.
They include the government, WASA Chairman, Mayor and Secretary of Dhaka South City Corporation, Shyampur Union Parishad Chairman, UNO and AC land of Shyampur, General Secretary of Kadamtali Shyampur Industrial Owners’ Association, Fire Service DG, Chief of Fire Service of Shyampur unit and Officer-in-Charge of Kadamtali Police Station.
The rights organization also 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.
Furthermore, it 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 Nirob.
Confirming the matter, lawyer Abdul Halim told The New Nation that the HC may hear the petition within few days.
On December 8, five-year-old boy Nirob fell into a manhole at 4:00pm while playing with other kids near city’s Jagarani Club in Shyampur.
Around five hours later, his body was found about a kilometre away, at Shyampur Sena Kalyan Ghat, where the sewer empties into the Buriganga river.
He was whisked off to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead.
