Rajib's Death: Bus owners asked to pay Tk 1 crore to his family

The High Court yesterday ordered the owners of two buses -- BRTC and Sajan Paribahan -- to pay Tk 1 crore to the family of Rajib Hossain, who lost his right hand in a road accident and later died last month.

The bus owners have been asked to pay Tk 50 lakh within a month to an account which would jointly be opened under the names of Rajib's aunt Jahanara Begum, and their relative, customs officer Omar Faruk, in Sonali Bank's Motijheel branch.

The HC also directed the bus owners to submit a report after complying with the order to this court by June 25.

The court said it would fix the next date for paying the remaining Tk 50 lakh after receiving the compliance report.

The bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque passed the order while hearing a rule issued by the bench on April 4 regarding the matter.

Jahanara and Rajib's two brothers Mehedi Hasan Bappy, 13, and Abdullah Hridoy, 11, both madrasa students, were present in the court.

Rajib's aunt told the court that she has helped raise Rajib's brothers and will continue to do so in the future.

After two weeks in coma, Rajib, a third-year student of Government Titumir College, died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on April 17.

Rajib lost his right hand after it got stuck between two speeding buses of BRTC and Sajan Paribahan which were trying to overtake each other in Bangla Motor area in Dhaka on April 3.

Profusely bleeding, he was taken to Samorita Hospital in Panthapath. He was at the post-operative Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on the day of the accident.

Following a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer, Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal, the HC, on April 4, also issued a rule asking the government and the bus owners to explain why they should not be directed to give Tk one crore to Rajib Hossain in compensation.

In the rule, the court ordered the authorities concerned from the government to show causes as to why they should not be directed to strictly enforce the relevant laws and rules for free movement of passengers, and also asked the authorities to explain why they should not be ordered to amend the laws and formulate new rules for preventing such road accidents in future.