The trial in the case filed over the death of Diya Khanam Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib, the two college students who were run over by a Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan bus last year, is at its final stages.
Confirming the matter, Additional Public Prosecutor Tapas Kumar Paul said: “The trial is at its final stages, and judgment is expected to be passed by September or October.”
The trial is now pending at the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Imrul Kayes.
The court would not hear any more prosecution witnesses after recording the statement of 37th witness — case investigation officer Kazi Shariful Islam, the prosecutor added.
The defence is now cross-examining Shariful, an inspector with the Detective Branch (DB) of police.
Tapas, who has been conducting the case since the beginning, said after cross-examination, the court will hear closing statements from both sides, following which the verdict will be expected.
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The next hearing is scheduled for August 22.
The public prosecutor said, out of the six accused in the case, Jabal-e-Noor Parbahan bus drivers Masum Billah and Zobair Hossain Sumon, Md Jahangir Alam, owner of one of the two buses involved in the crash, and driver’s assistant Enayet Hossain have been sent to jail.
Among other accused, Kazi Asad, a driver’s assistant, is being tried as a fugitive while Shahadat Hossain Akand, the owner of the bus that ran over the college students, is out on bail.
The defence, however, claimed that the accused were “not guilty” and will be “acquitted.”
“There are enough grounds to acquit all of the accused in the case,” defence counsel ATM Asadul Sumon said.
But Tapas said the prosecution believes that all the accused will receive the maximum punishment.
The tragic deaths of Diya and Rajib, students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin School and College, took place when a Jabal-e-Noor bus ploughed through some students near Kurmitola General Hospital on Airport Road on July 29 last year.
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They were run over as two Jabal-e-Noor buses were speeding to overtake each other on the road. Their deaths then sparked public outrage and a weeklong nationwide student movement demanding justice for the victims and safer roads.
Following the deaths, Diya’s father Jahangir Alam filed a case with Cantonment police. Jahangir himself was a bus driver, but has quit after losing her daughter.
On September 6, 2018, the case investigation officer pressed charges against six people with Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, and the court indicted them on homicide charges on October 25.
Meanwhile, 22 students, who were part of the road safety movement, are yet to be acquitted from the cases filed against them, although a year has passed after the incident. They, however, have been granted bail.
Police had filed around 50 cases in different police stations against the students for allegedly attacking the police, obstructing the police in performing their duty, vandalism, and sabotage.
But no charge sheet has been filed against them yet.
