Court jails two Jabale Nur drivers for life over 2018 bus crash

A Dhaka court has sentenced two Jabale Nur Paribahan drivers and an assistant to life in prison and acquitted two others in a road crash that killed two college students in 2018.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Imrul Kayes delivered the verdict on Sunday.

Two buses of Jabale Nur raced each other as they barrelled down from Kalshi flyover when one of them ran over the students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College waiting for transport on Airport Road on July 29 last year.

Dia Khanom Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib died on the spot while several others were injured. The accident triggered an unprecedented student protest, bringing Dhaka traffic to a standstill for a week.

Drivers Masum Billah and Jubayer Sumon and helper Md Asad Kazi, who is absconding, were convicted of culpable homicide.

Jabale Nur Paribahan bus driver Jubayer Sumon crying as police escorting him from the court to jail in Dhaka on Sunday after he was handed life imprisonment for the deaths of two college students in a road crash that triggered widespread protests. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

Bus owner Jahangir Alam and Enayet Hossain, another assistant, were exonerated.

The other suspect in the case, bus owner Md Shahadat Hossain Akondo, is out on bail after the High Court stayed the trial proceedings against him.

Inspector Kazi Shariful Islam pressed charges against the six accused in the case on Sept 6.

In the investigation, he found that the fitness of Jahangir’s bus had expired two years before the accident happened while Shahadat’s bus did not have a route permit.

REACTIONS

In his reaction to the verdict, Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu said the drivers and their assistants had “intentionally” caused the deaths of the two students.

“They received the maximum punishment prescribed under the law. The ruling sends out the message that no-one will get away with reckless driving.”

Additional Public Prosecutor Tapas Kumar Paul said he was happy with the verdict. They would decide after discussions whether to appeal against the acquittal of the two defendants, he said.

Md Hashim Uddin, a defence lawyer, said driver Masum was at the Detective Branch office on Minto Road at the time mentioned when his confessional statement was supposedly recorded.

Owner of a Jabale Nur Paribahan bus Jahangir Alam arrives in court ahead of the verdict in a case over a road crash that killed two college students in 2018. He was subsequently acquitted by the court. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

Jabale Nur Paribahan bus assistant Enayet Hossain arrives in court ahead of the verdict in a case over a road crash that killed two college students in 2018. He was subsequently acquitted by the court. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

“Moreover, no post-mortem examination was conducted. So my client would have been acquitted had the verdict been fair. We will appeal against it in the High Court,” he added.

Dia’s father Jahangir Alam, who is also a bus driver, started the case at the Cantonment Police Station on the same day the accident occurred. He did not come to the court to hear the verdict.

Her mother Roksana Begum told the media that she was happy with the verdict.

“I won’t get my daughter back, but the verdict will bring some solace to her soul,” she said.

Dia's uncle Selim Hossain said, "The driver should have been hanged. He was driving without a licence.”

"The vehicle also lacked the required registration documents. So he should have been given the death penalty."

Driver Masum broke into a sob after the delivery of the verdict. The two other convicts also looked dejected.

WHY LIFE SENTENCE?

Judge Kayes said in the verdict that both drivers – Masum and Jubayer – had known that the downward slope of the flyover was dangerous and risky as they had been familiar with the route.

“Even after this Masum’s bus hit the railings of the flyover sideways twice before the accident.”

His helper Enayet and the passengers requested him to slow down but he did not pay any heed and finally ran over the students waiting for transport, the judge said.

Dia Khanom Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib

“There must be fatal injuries to bring culpable homicide charges under Section 304 [of the Penal Code]. Rajib’s intestines burst out, which is an evident of such injury. So, the two drivers Masum Billah, Jubayer Sumon, and Sumon’s helper Asad Kazi have been given the maximum punishment under the section – life imprisonment.”

The judge said Masum’s assistant Enayet alerted the driver to reckless driving so the helper is acquitted.

Owner Jahangir did commit a crime by allowing a driver with licence for light vehicles to drive a heavy vehicle, but the charges against him were not punishable under the related section in the case, Judge Kayes said.