HC summons Railway DG over failure to compensate Jihad’s family

The High Court, on Tuesday, summoned Bangladesh Railway Director General (DG) to appear before it to provide an explanation for the failure to execute an earlier ruling to compensate Jihad- who died after falling into an abandoned deep tube-well in Shahjahanpur area of Dhaka on December 26, 2014.

A High Court bench of Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Mohammad Ali fixed August 14 as the date for the DG's summation after a hearing a contempt of court rule.

Barrister Abdul Halim stood for the petitioner while Advocate Asadul Haq represented Bangladesh Railway.

Earlier, on March 1 last year, three government officials were issued a contempt of court ruling by the High Court for not implementing a court order to provide Tk20 lakh as compensation to the family of Jihad.

A High Court bench comprising Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice KM Kamrul Kader, asked Bangladesh Railway DG Md Amjad Hosain, Fire Service and Civil Defence DG Brigadier General Ali Ahmed Khan, and its Director Major AKM Shakil Newaj, to respond to the ruling within two weeks.

A legal notice was served to defendants on January 22 as they have not provided the compensation money to the family.

Later, the contempt petition was filed as the defendants did not reply to the legal notice.

On February 18, 2016, an HC bench comprising Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Kazi M Ejarul Haque Akond asked the government to compensate Tk20 lakh to the family members of four-year-old Jihad  who met the tragic end of his life inside a 600-foot abandoned shaft of a water pump at Shahjahanpur Railway Colony.

Previously, Advocate Md Abdul Halim filed a writ petition with the High Court on December 28, 2014 seeking its directives to provide Tk30 lakh as compensation to Jihad's family members.

Jihad's body was retrieved from the abandoned shaft 23 hours after he had slipped into it.