The High Court today issued a rule asking the government to explain in four weeks why it should not be ordered to give Tk 1 crore as compensation to the family of five-year-old Jisan, who died after falling into a ditch in Dhaka’s Adabar area in March this year.

The court also asked concerned authorities of the government to submit a report on the list of the capital's waterbodies and the steps taken to build safety belts around it according to the master plan to the court within three months.

The bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Zafar Ahmed came up with the order and ruled after hearing a writ petition filed by rights organisation, Children Charity Foundation Bangladesh, seeking necessary order over the issue.

Local government and rural development (LGRD) secretary, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) chairman, commissioner of Dhaka metropolitan police, deputy commissioner of Dhaka, managing director of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa), chief executive officer of Dhaka north city corporation and officer in charge of Adabar Police Station have been made respondents to the rule. 

Jisan, son of Abul Hashem alias Hashu Mia, a resident of Nabodoy Housing at Adabar, was found dead in a ditch on March 9.

A group of children was reportedly playing cricket in an open space of the housing. At one stage, their cricket ball fell into the ditch and Jisan jumped into the water body to fetch the ball, but he failed to return.