Death on ferry: HC seeks report by Oct 23

The High Court today directed the public administration secretary to submit by October 23 an enquiry report on the death of 13-year-old Titash Ghosh, who died in an ambulance on a ferry on the way to Dhaka on July 25.

The HC bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahsan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed in connection with the death of Titash.

During the hearing today, Deputy Attorney General Abdullah-Al-Mahmud Bashar on behalf of the public administration secretary sought time till October 23 for submitting the enquiry report.

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Govt officials are not VIPs

On July 31, the HC directed the public administration secretary for appointing an officer, not below the rank of additional secretary, to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit a report before the court in three weeks.

The HC bench also set August 28 (today) for the next hearing and passing further orders in this regard.

Advocate Zahir Uddin Limon, chairman of Legal Support and People’s Rights, filed the petition with the HC on July 30 seeking its directives on this issue.  

Titash Ghosh, 13, a student of Kalia Pilot Secondary School in Narail, was critically injured in a motorbike accident in the district on July 24.

A day later, doctors of a local hospital referred him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for an emergency operation.

The family was taking him to Dhaka in an ambulance, which arrived at the Kathalbari Ferry Terminal in Munshiganj around 8:00pm on July 25.

A ferry called “Ferry Cumilla” was reportedly already at the pontoon, which had its gate closed and was not loading vehicles.

Ferry authorities said they were waiting for the arrival of Md Abdus Sabur Mondal, the head of Digital Service and Public Service Innovation Cluster and E-Service Implementation Specialist of the Access to Information (a2i) Programme at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The ambulance was stuck on the pontoon and could not reverse or shift to another because of the queue of vehicles in front and behind it.

The ferry started loading vehicles around 10:20pm when the authorities learnt that the government official was close by. Around 11:00pm, the official arrived and the ferry started moving.

Titash died on the ferry, family sources said.