10 people accused in girder crash case face new charges: culpable homicide, negligent death

Five members of a family died on Aug 15 after a crane dropped a girder on a passing car

A concrete girder under the Bus Rapid Transit project fell on a passing car while being moved onto a tailer by a crane in Dhaka’s Uttara on Aug 15, 2022. Five people died in the accident.

The 10 suspects named in a case over the deaths of five people in a car crushed by a concrete girder under the Bus Rapid Transit project in Uttara have been charged with culpable homicide and death by negligence in a new case.

Shahida Khanam, the wife of victim Ayub Hossain Rubel, filed the second case with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka, bringing the charges under five sections of the Bangladesh Penal Code on Sunday.

After hearing the petitioner’s plea, the judge ordered police to investigate the case, said Rakib Chowdhury, a court official.

The accused will face life imprisonment if the charges are proven.

On Aug 15, Rubel and four other members of the family died after a crane dropped the girder on their car while shifting it into a trailer.

Rubel’s son Hridoy and Hridoy’s wife Riya Moni Akter survived the accident, but Riya’s mother Fahima, Fahima’s sister Jharna and Jharna’s children Zakaria and Jannat lost their lives.

Fahima and Jharna’s brother Afran Mandal filed the first case over the incident at Uttara West Police Station against unnamed people.

The Rapid Action Battalion later arrested crane operator Al Amin Hossain Hridoy, 23, his assistant Rakib Hossain, 21, who was operating the crane, Zulfikar Ali Shah, 39, a safety engineer, Md Rubel, 28, and Afroz Miah, 50, of the Four Brothers Guard Service, IFSCON Bangladesh owner Iftekhar Hossain, 39, who provided heavy equipment for the project, Head of Operations Azharul Islam Mithu, 45, Tofazzal Hossain Tushar, 42, the marketing manager of Build Trade Company, which provided cranes to the project, and administrative officials Ruhul Amin Mridha, 33, and Manzurul Islam, 29.

The 10 accused were remanded in police custody.

Shahida alleged in the new case that Zulfikar did not take measures to create a safety net over the site because he had no training. Al Amin let Rakib operate the crane instead of doing his own work. Both fled the scene without making an attempt to remove the girder.

All the accused had been "taking benefits" from the company without doing their duty, which finally caused the deaths, according to the new case. It also alleged that the officials recruited the crane operator and the safety engineer although they were aware of the workers’ unskillfulness.