Police at last sue teenage SUV driver

Police have at last filed a case against Fareez Rahman, whose irresponsible driving left four people injured in the capital's Gulshan on October 12.

Seventeen days after the incident, Sub-Inspector Ferdous Alam of Gulshan Police Station on Thursday night sued him for reckless driving, injuring people and damaging rickshaws, police said.

Sirajul Islam, officer-in-charge of Gulshan Police Station, said they had gone to Fareez's house to arrest him but he was not there.

"We are raiding different areas in the capital to arrest him."

Asked whether the boy has already fled the country as claimed in some media reports, the OC said he was not aware about it.

In a drunken state, 16-year-old Fareez, nephew of former Awami League lawmaker HBM Iqbal, was racing with another car on a Gulshan street when he rammed his SUV into two rickshaws, according to a police officer, who inspected the site immediately after the crash.

However, police played a dubious role in dealing with it and refrained from taking any legal action against the boy even days after the accident that created quite a stir on the social media.

On October 20 the High Court asked the police authorities to explain in two weeks why they should not be ordered to take legal action against Fareez. It also asked why departmental proceedings should not be taken against the officer-in-charge of Gulshan Police Station for not carrying out his duty in this matter.

"The case has been filed in line with the [HC] order," OC Sirajul told The Daily Star Islam last night.