A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking Tk3 crore as compensation for the family of Titas Ghosh.
Road accident victim Titas was being taken to Dhaka last Thursday when he died in an ambulance on a ferry after it was delayed for three hours waiting for the arrival of a joint secretary.
Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Mohammad Zahir Uddin filed the petition on Tuesday on behalf of a rights organization, Legal Support and People’s Right.
The petition also requested the court to direct the government to take steps so the ferries prioritize ambulances carrying critical patients, order the government to conduct an inquiry into the incident surrounding Titas' death, and to take appropriate legal action against people responsible for it.
Zahir said the hearing of the petition might be held at the bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader on Wednesday.
The secretary of the Shipping Ministry, Road Transport and Highway Division, the inspector general of police, and the BIWTC chairman were made respondent to the writ, among others.
Also Read- Three probe committees formed over death due to ferry delay
How did Titas die?
Titas Ghosh, 11, was critically injured in a motorcycle accident Thursday evening.
He was being taken to Dhaka in an ambulance for better treatment when the vehicle got stuck in a ferry at the Kathalbari terminal in Shibchar upazila, Madaripur.
The vessel then waited three hours to leave the dock for Abdus Sabur Mandal, a joint secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office working in the Access to Information (a2i) project, to arrive and cross over.
The ferry terminal authority was reportedly asked to wait for Mandal to arrive.
However, Titas lost a lot of blood during that time and succumbed to his injury on the way to Dhaka.
Investigations on
Three probe committees were formed on Monday to investigate the incident that led to Titas’ death.
Of them, BIWTC General Manager Md Ashikuzzaman formed a two-member committee, and Madaripur Deputy Commissioner Md Wahidul Islam formed another four-member committee.
The Shipping Ministry also formed a two-member committee, which includes Joint Secretary Shahnawaz Dilruba Khan and Deputy Secretary Shah Habibur Rahman, to look into the matter.
All three committees started working on Monday and Tuesday. They were also told to submit their findings within seven working days.
TIB condemns
Meanwhile, the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Monday condemned Titas’ death and demanded a fair amount of compensation to his family and accountability of those responsible.
In addition, it urged the Cabinet Secretariat and the Public Administration Ministry to articulate and set out a detail framework of governance, limiting special privileges for VIP facilities to curb irregularities.
Additional reporting by Monjur Hossain from Madaripur
