A Dhaka court has granted police three days to grill the owner of the Suprobhat Private Limited bus that killed a university student last month, triggering protests.
Metropolitan Magistrate Baki Billah ordered the remand of Noni Gopal on Friday after hearing a petition by Inspector Kazi Shariful Islam of police’s Detective Branch, reports bdnews24.com.
Yaar Khan, a lawyer for the petitioner, pleaded for dismissal of the remand petition arguing that his client was not behind the wheel.
Khan also argued it was natural for him to order his employees to get the bus to a safe place.
The conductor was driving the bus at the time of the accident as they were fleeing on orders from Gopal after driver Sirajul was arrested following another hit-and-run, police said.
In the hearing, police said the conductor had no driving licence while the driver’s licence was for light vehicles, not bus or truck, according to court police’s General Recording Officer SI Sheikh Rakibur Rahman.
Gopal was aware of these facts and so he cannot avoid the responsibility for the crash, Rakibur said.
Police had earlier arrested driver Sirajul Islam, conductor ‘Yasin’, and Sirajul’s helper ‘Ibrahim’ in a case started by victim Abrar Ahmed Chowdhury’s father.
The trio had also been remanded in police custody and given statements to the court, accepting their responsibilities for the incident.
The four accused face maximum life term imprisonment if found guilty.
Abrar, 20, a first-year student of Bangladesh University or Professionals or BUP, was waiting for a university bus on a zebra crossing near Jamuna Future Park and Bashundhara Gate at Nadda when the bus ran over and killed him on Mar 19.
BUP students took to the streets and shouted demands for punishment of the bus driver. Students from different institutions in the area also joined the protests demanding safe roads.
The protests spread across the city, grinding traffic to a halt at many busy streets and thoroughfares.
They halted the protests when the government pledged to meet their demands, including maximum penalty for the bus driver, revocation of Suprobhat’s licence to operate, a government order requiring drivers to display their photograph and licence inside the bus, installation of a footbridge at the Bashundhara Gate, and CCTV cameras to monitor traffic officers.
