Mosque blast: HC orders Titas to pay Tk 0.5 million each to victims' families

The High Court has ordered state utility Titas to pay on an emergency basis Tk 0.5 million (Tk 500,000) each to the families of the 37 victims of the deadly air-conditioner blasts at a mosque in Narayanganj’s Fatullah.

The court gave the gas transmission and distribution agency seven days to make the payments. It directed the deputy commissioner of Narayangang to distribute the funds among the families.

Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Md Khairul Alam passed the order after hearing the families' petition for compensation on Thursday.

It also issued a rule asking why the families should not be paid Tk 500,000 each, reports bdnews24.com.

Supreme Court Advocate Mar-e-Um Khandaker filed the writ petition in the public interest. Additional Attorney General Murad Reza and Deputy Attorney General Nur-us-Sadik argued on behalf of the petitioners in court.

As many as 28 people have died following the near-simultaneous blasts of six air-conditioners during prayers at the Baitul Salat mosque on September 4.

Nine others are still battling for their lives at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka.

Officials and locals blamed gas leaks for the explosion.

The authorities suspect the gas accumulated inside the building caused the blasts which were sparked by an electric short-circuit.

Members of the mosque’s governing body also alleged that Titas officials refused to repair the leaks without the payment of Tk 50,000.

The Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence, state gas transmission and distribution agency Titas and the district administration of Narayanganj have each formed a committee to investigate the explosions.