Victim gets Tk 15,000

Fareez Rahman, the underage driver who hit two rickshaws with an SUV leaving four people hurt on October 12, has paid Tk 15,000 to one of the injured rickshaw-pullers, said a relative of the victim.

Rafiqul Islam Sheikh, brother-in-law of rickshaw-puller Abdul Hakim, 32, told The Daily Star yesterday evening that Fareez's family had offered the victim money to stop him from seeking legal redress.

Hakim, who had been admitted to United Hospital in the capital, went to his village home in Gaibandha after being discharged the day before. He has to stay there for at least two or three weeks and have a complete rest.

“We had to accept the offer as the family [of Hakim] is left with no other option,” he said, adding that Hakim will have no source of income during his stay at village home.  

He added, “The guardian of Fareez gave me Tk 15,000 after I signed a stamp paper. The amount is not enough to buy medicine and manage a five-member family.”

He, however, could not say what was written on the paper.

Asked what they would do if Hakim's condition deteriorates, Rafiqul said, “It would be our bad luck. Fareez possibly won't give us any more money.”

This newspaper tried to contact the family of Fareez, nephew of an ex-Awami League lawmaker, for the last two days at their Gulshan residence on Road 53. But the guards said nobody was home.

They could not be reached over mobile phones either. 

Meanwhile, five days have passed since the crash, but neither a complaint nor a case has been filed.

An official of Gulshan Police Station claimed nobody approached them as the family of Fareez has “entered into negotiations with the victims”.

“But if anybody comes to us, we will record a case,” he told this correspondent.

On October 12, the SUV driven by 16-year-old Fareez was racing with another car on a Gulshan road, parts of which became waterlogged after heavy rain, said a policeman, who was near the Dutch Club gate at the time of the incident.

“The SUV rammed two rickshaws after crossing the club gate while the other car sped away,” he said.

Two rickshaw-pullers, a passenger and a pedestrian were injured in the incident.

The SUV, seized by police, is still at Gulshan Police Station.

A sub-inspector, who visited the spot immediately after the incident, said police found evidence that the underage driver was drunk.

According to a senior police official, law enforcers took no legal step allegedly under pressure from the "influential family" of Fareez.

While talking to this reporter, the cops wished anonymity, terming the issue a sensitive one.