Tareque Masud, Mishuk Munier death: Compensation cases not resolved

The two separate compensation cases, brought by the families of filmmaker Tareque Masud and ATN News CEO Mishuk Munier, who lost their lives in a road accident 12 years ago, are still pending.

The High Court has delivered its verdict in the case filed by Tareque Masud's family. The case is presently awaiting a hearing in the Appellate Division. Meanwhile, the compensation case lodged by Mishuk Munier's family is currently being heard in the High Court.

Ramzan Ali Sikder, one of the lawyers of the two families, told Prothom Alo yesterday afternoon on the phone, that the separate appeals filed by the bus owner and the plaintiffs against the verdict rendered by the High Court in the compensation case of Tareque Masud's family have appeared in the causelist of the Appellate Division for hearing. The hearing is likely to start soon. Meanwhile, 16 August has been fixed in the High Court for hearing the testimony of the defendant in the compensation case filed by Mishuk Munier's family.

On 13 August 2011, Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier were killed in an accident on the Dhaka-Aricha highway in the Joka area of Ghior upazila, Manikganj. A Chuadanga-bound bus (Chuadanga Deluxe) collided with the microbus carrying them, resulting in five people being killed on the spot and three others sustaining serious injuries.

The driver of the microbus Mostafizur Rahman, production assistant Wasim Hossain and Jamal Hossain were killed in the accident along with Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier. Tareque Masud's wife Catherine Masud, artist Dhali Al Mamun and his wife Dilara Begum Jolly were injured. They were returning to Dhaka from Shaljana village of Shibaloy upazila of Manikganj after visiting a shooting spot for the movie ‘Kagojer Ful’

The police filed a case at the Ghior police station as a plaintiff in the accident. Almost six years after the incident, in February 2017, a lower court sentenced bus driver Jamir Hossain to life imprisonment along with a fine. The bus driver died on 1 August 2020 while in prison.

After the accident, the families of Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier separately filed cases against the bus owner, driver, and insurance company in the Manikganj District Judge's Court for compensation under the Motor Vehicles Ordinance on 13 February, 2012. Following the plaintiff's request, the case was later transferred to the High Court. In the case filed by Tareque Masud's family, the High Court issued a compensation verdict on 3 December 2017. The verdict directed Tareque Masud's family to receive compensation of Tk 46.1 million.

The bus owners and the plaintiff appealed to the Appellate Division separately in 2019. Both appeals were in the 21st place of the Appellate Division’s cause list on 9 August of that year, but no hearing happened on that day. On the other hand, the trial proceeding of the case filed by the family of Mishuk Munier seeking compensation is underway at the High Court bench of justices GBM Hassan and Razik Al Jalil. Lastly, the court recorded witness deposition in this case on 18 July this year.

Mishuk Munier’s wife Monjuly Kazi told Prothom Alo on Saturday, “Had there not been the coronavirus pandemic, we would have received the verdict as the case proceedings progressed. We are hopeful the case would be disposed of quickly and we will get justice.”