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The family of Dia Khanom Mim, a college student who was run over and killed by a Jabale Nur Paribahan bus in 2018, has expressed dissatisfaction with the court's decision to sentence the driver to life in prison over the crash.
They urged the state prosecutors to appeal to a higher court seeking the death penalty against driver Sumon Billah, reports bdnews24.com.
Two buses of Jabale Nur raced each other as they barrelled down from the Kalshi flyover when one of them ran over the students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College waiting for transport on Airport Road.
Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib died on the spot while several others were injured. The accident triggered an unprecedented student protest with calls for safer roads.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Imrul Kayes on Sunday jailed the two bus drivers and an assistant for life.
Reacting to the verdict, Dia's uncle Selim Hossain said, "The driver should have been hanged. He was driving without a licence.”
"The vehicle also lacked the necessary registration documents. So he should have been given the death penalty."
Dia’s father Jahangir Alam, a bus driver, started the case with the Cantonment Police Station on the same day the accident occurred. But Jahangir decided to stop driving buses after Dia's death -- a decision which he still stands by, according to Selim.
Selim believes the accident stemmed from the owners' decision to allow underage drivers to operate buses.
“Owners hand their vehicles to children aged between 10 and 13 years. There have been many accidents as a result."
On Sunday, drivers Masum Billah and Jubayer Sumon and helper Md Asad Kazi, who is absconding, were convicted of culpable homicide. Bus owner Jahangir Alam and Enayet Hossain, another assistant, were exonerated.
The other suspect in the case, bus owner Md Shahadat Hossain Akondo, is out on bail after the High Court stayed the trial proceedings against him.