A court on Sunday sentenced three staff of Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan - two drivers and a helper, to life term imprisonment over a road accident that killed students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College in Dhaka last year. The convicts are bus drivers Zobair Sumon, Masum Billah, and the helper Kazi Asad.
The court fined them Tk50,000 each, in default, they will have to serve six months in jail in addition. The same court acquitted Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan bus owner Jahangir Alam and assistant Enayet Hossain in the case filed over deaths of college students Diya Khanam Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Imrul Qayes handed down the verdict. On July 29 in 2018, two students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College -- Abdul Karim Rajib, 18, and Dia Khanam Mim, 17 -- were run over and killed while nine others were injured during a mad race between two passenger buses of Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan (transport), triggering an angry protest across the country.
The victim Dia’s father Jahangir Alam Fakir filed a case with Cantonment Police Station in connection with the killing on the same day. Drivers, helpers and owners of two Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan buses were accused in the case. On November 14, the court had set the date of delivering the verdict on completion of placing arguments from the prosecution and defense.
The High Court stayed the trial proceedings against another bus owner Shahdat Hossain, now on bail, on November 7 last year. On September 6 last year, Inspector Kazi Shariful Islam of Detective Branch of police submitted charge-sheet to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka against the accused.
The Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court of Dhaka framed charges against them on October 25 and the trial began on November 1. Of the total 41 witnesses, 37 gave their testimonies before the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court in the case.