DHAKA: The High Court on Sunday issued a rule upon the authority to explain why the family of Jihad should not be given Tk 30 lakh as compensation for negligence of rescue operation.

An HC bench comprising Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Kazi Mohammad Izaharul Haque issued the rule after a writ petition filed by Children’s Charity Bangladesh Foundation.

The court also directed the authorities to take appropriate legal actions against the officials concerned for their negligence that led the tragic and shocking death of Jihad.

The court also asked to explain why should be taken punitive against the negligence of Fire Service, WASA, Railway and City Corporations.

Moreover, the court also asked the authorities concerned to prepare a list of abandoned pipes, drains, manholes and sewerage lines available in the city.

Apart from this, the HC also asked the Fire Service authorities to submit the list of equipments they bought and training received in last two years by May 15.

Earlier on December 26, the four-year-old child Jihad fell in an abandoned water-pipe in Shahjahanpur of the city and trapped badly.

The very next day, Jihad was rescued from the deep well shaft at 3:00pm by three volunteers after a 23-hour effort and rushed immediately to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead at 3:35pm.

On December 28, Rights organization Children’s Charity Bangladesh Foundation (CCBF) and Supreme Court lawyer Syed Mayeenul Huq submitted the petition seeking adequate compensation for the victim’s family as public interest litigation also seeking several other directives from the court on the government authorities over the incident.

CCBF, in its petition filed with the High Court, sought its directives on the government to give adequate compensation to the family of Jihad for gross negligence and violation of human rights and right to life guaranteed by the constitution.

However, the writ petitioner sought the HC directives asking DCC and WASA authorities to sort out uncovered, unsafe manholes in the city and fix them immediately.

The lawyer of the petitioner, Ruhul Kuddus Kajol, said that the authorities are responsible for the tragic death of Jihad.

So, the writ petition was filed with the HC seeking its order to the authorities concerned for taking necessary initiatives, he added.

BDST: 1858 HRS, FEB 15, 2015