Tragic Death of Jihad: 3 railway engineers among 4 jailed
Four people, including three engineers of Bangladesh Railway, were sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment yesterday in a case filed over the 2014 death of a child after he fell into a deep abandoned shaft in the capital's Shahjahanpur.
The convicts are Abdus Salam alias Shafiqul Islam, proprietor of SR House, a contractor firm that was implementing a railway project in the area, and Jahangir Alam, senior sub-assistant engineer; and Zafar Ahmed and Nasir Uddin, assistant engineers of Bangladesh Railway.
The Special Court of Judge Md Akhtaruzzman in Dhaka found them guilty of “gross-negligence and reluctance in discharging their duties” that had led to the pre-mature death of three-year-old Jihad.
“If the convicts were more conscious about their duties, they could have saved the life of the victim,” said the judge as he pronounced the verdict in a packed courtroom.
Hearing the judgment, all the four broke down in tears in the dock.
The court also fined them Tk 2 lakh each, in default of which they will have to serve two more years in jail.
It acquitted two other assistant engineers, Saiful Islam and Dipak Kumar Bhowmik, as the allegations brought against them were not proved.
The judge cancelled bails of the convicts and sent them to jail with conviction warrants.
On December 26, 2014, Jihad fell into the 600-feet-long abandoned shaft with a diameter of 17-inch as he was playing with his friends near his house at Bangladesh Railway Colony in Shahjahanpur.
Jihad's father Mohammad Nasir Uddin told reporters he was not satisfied with the judgment as two accused were acquitted. After talking to his lawyer, he will decide whether he will appeal against it.
The 23-hour-long rescue operation by the fire service following the incident drew huge criticism as it failed and volunteers recovered the body just 15 minutes after the operation was put to an end.
The three engineers were in charge of the area and SR House that was implementing a railway project left the shaft uncovered.
The court in the verdict said the convicts had not taken any step to cover the pipe for safety of the people living adjacent to the place and consequently it cost the life of an innocent child.
There was no scope to be lenient in awarding punishment as per the existing law, it added.
Jihad's father had filed a case against Jahangir and Salam with Shahjahanpur Police Station the following day of the tragic incident.
Besides, two writs were filed with the High Court, seeking a number of directives, including orders to the government to give adequate compensation to the victim's family and take action against the officials who failed to rescue the boy.
Sub-inspector Abu Zafar in April 2015 pressed charges against Jahangir and Salam. But the victim's father filed a no-confidence petition against the investigation.
Later, the court ordered further investigation. As per the order, detectives in May last year pressed fresh charges against six people including Salam and Jahangir.
In October last year, the same court framed charges against the six and recorded testimonies of 11 prosecution witnesses and heard arguments before it fixed the day to deliver the verdict.