Court orders further probe into Jihad’s death

A Dhaka court today ordered further investigation into the death of four-year-old Jihad who died after falling into a deep well last year.

Detective police were directed to carry out the probe after a no-confidence (naraji) plea was moved with the court on the investigation already carried out.

Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mahbubur Rahman passed the order after hearing on the petition moved by Nasir Fakir, father of Jihad.

Fakir alleged that Shahjahanpur police Sub-Inspector Abu Zafar left out four Bangladesh Railway officials from the charge-sheet despite evidence of their involvement in primary investigation.

Those four include the general manager of Bangladesh Railway, its assistant engineer of the bridges division Nasiruddin and a Senior Sub-Engineer Abu Zafar Bidyut.

Jihad fell into a deep-well left open near his house at Railway Colony in the capital, around 4:00pm on December 26 last year while playing with friends.

His body was pulled out by a band of indomitable volunteers around 2:45pm the following day, around 15 minutes after the fire service called off a near 23-hour search in the 17-inch diameter abandoned shaft.

On May 21, railway’s Senior Sub-Assistant Engineer Jahangir Alam, who was charged with Jihad’s death and was on the run since a case was filed over the incident that alleged negligence, surrendered and got bail.

The only other charge-sheet accused Abdus Salam, a contractor who installed the deep well, also is now on bail.