Two writ petitions were filed with the High Court yesterday seeking its directives to the government to give adequate compensation to the family of Jihad, 4, who was found dead inside a well at Shajahanpur in the capital on Saturday.
Of the petitions, one was filed by Children’s Charity Bangladesh Foundation (CCBF), a rights organisation, and another by Supreme Court lawyer Syed Mayeenul Huq.
The petitioners also sought appropriate legal actions against the officials, whose negligence resulted in the tragic death of the child.
The CCBF urged the court to issue a rule upon the authorities to explain why they should not be directed to give Tk30 lakh in damages to the family for their gross negligence, violation of human rights and the right to life guaranteed by the constitution.
It prayed to the court to seek explanation from the government as to why it should not be directed to file a murder case against the director general of Fire Service and Civil Defence and its director of operation and maintenance, director-general of Bangladesh Railway and managing director of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) for their alleged negligence and failure over the Jihad incident.
Supreme Court lawyer Syed Mayeenul Huq in his petition appealed to the court to order the government to form a high-power expert committee with local volunteers to probe the reasons behind the failure of the officials to rescue Jihad.
He prayed to the court to ask the government to take appropriate legal steps against the police officials, who had detained Jihad’s father Nasir at Shahjahanpur police station for around 12 hours.
