HC acquits 4 on appeal in Jihad case

The High Court on Wednesday acquitted four accused who were sentenced to 10 year imprisonments by the lower court in a case filed over the death of Jihad, who died after falling into an abandoned deep tube-well in Shahjahanpur area of the city on 26 December, 2014, reports UNB.

A division bench of justice Md Ruhul Quddus Babu and justice ASM Abdul Mobin passed the verdict after hearing an appeal petition.

The court said no offence could be proved by the testimony of the witnesses. Besides, the alleged negligence is compensable.

"As Jihad's father has already been compensated Tk 2 million as per another HC verdict, the appeal petition has now been granted," said the court.

The body of Jihad was pulled out from the abandoned shaft around 3:00pm on 27 December, 2014, 23 hours after he had slipped into it.

His father Nasir Fakir filed a case over the incident bringing allegation of negligence.

Although police pressed charges against six accused, a lower court sentenced four of them to ten years imprisonment on 26 February, 2017.

The convicts were identified as Jahangir Alam, senior deputy assistant engineer of Bangladesh Railway; Abdus Salam alias Shafiqul Islam, owner of construction company JSR; Nasir Uddin, assistant engineer of BR; and Jafar Ahmed Shafi, electric engineer.
Meanwhile, a Supreme Court lawyer on behalf of Children's Charity Bangladesh Foundation filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking Tk 3 million compensation for Jihad's family.

Hearing the petition, the court ordered Bangladesh Railway and Fire Service and Civil Defense to provide the deceased's family Tk 2 million as compensation.

Later, the two authorities compensated the amount equally.