The High Court yesterday sought explanation from the government as to why the latter should not be directed to give the family of Jihad, who died after falling into an abandoned well in the capital in December, Tk30 lakh in compensation.
The bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Kazi Mohammad Ejarul Haque Akondo came up with the ruling in response to a writ petition filed by Children’s Charity Bangladesh Foundation.
Home secretary, railway secretary, director general of fire service and civil defence, director general of railway, director of fire service and civil defence (operation and maintenance), Wasa chairman, administrator of South City Corporation, DMP commissioner, deputy commissioner of Motijheel zone police and operation-in-charge of Shahjahanpur police station were asked to respond to the rule within four weeks.
The four-year-old boy was killed after falling into an unprotected pipe hole dug by railway authorities at Shahjahanpur Railway Colony on December 26 last year.
The rights organisation submitted the petition on December 28 seeking the court’s directives on providing the victim’s family Tk30 lakh as compensation.
The court yesterday also asked the government to explain in four weeks why the negligence of the government, Wasa, fire service, railway and the Dhaka City Corporation in rescuing Jihad should not be declared illegal.
Moreover, the court directed the fire service authorities to submit a list of uncared pipes, wells, tube-wells, sewerage pipe holes and water tanks across the country by May 15.
