Pinak-6 owner’s bail withheld

A chamber judge has put on hold a High Court order granting bail to Abu Bakar Siddique alias Kalu, the owner of the ill-fated Pinak-6 launch.

The vessel had sunk with over 200 passengers on board in the Padma River last August.
 
Appellate Division Chamber Judge Justice Hasan Foez Siddique on Thursday withheld the bail for two weeks.
 
The High Court on Monday granted the launch owner a six-month interim bail.
 
Pinak-6, a double-decker passenger vessel with a capacity of around 100 passengers, capsized on Aug 4 last year. It has not been located or salvaged yet.
 
The body count from the mishap stood at 48 after eight days of rescue operations, while 59 others were unaccounted for.
 
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) had filed the case, accusing six people, including Siddique, on charges flouting rules to carry passengers beyond vessel’s capacity, death by negligence, and reckless navigation.
 
Police arrested Siddique in Chittagong on Aug 13. He is currently in jail.
 
He moved the High Court after failing to secure bail from a lower court in January.
 
Siddique, vice president of the BNP’s Medinimondol Union unit, is said to be a co-owner of ‘Mawa Express’, which plies on the Mawa-Kewrakandi route.