Baridhara hit-and-run case settled for Tk 9 lakh

A compromise deed of Tk 9,00,000 has been reached in the case filed over the killing of construction worker Mehedi Hasan, who was run over by a car while sitting on the sidewalk in Baridhara, Dhaka.  

Defense lawyer Alamgir Hossain submitted a compromise deed to the Children’s Court on behalf of the teenager involved in the incident on Thursday. A hearing will take place at noon.

The compromise deed said, “Since there was no prior enmity between the parties and the incident was unintentional accident, considering the overall situation of both parties, the dispute has been settled and compromised through the mediation of dignitaries and close relatives.”

It mentioned that the party provided Tk 1,00,000 to complete the funeral of the Mehedi. Later, an additional Tk 8,00,000 was provided. Mehedi’s family reached a compromise for a total of Tk 9,00,000.

Mehedi’s family will take measures to withdraw the case, the compromise deed noted.

On Tuesday around 5 pm, a car mounted the sidewalk on road number 1 of the Diplomatic Zone in Baridhara and ran over construction worker Mehedi, 24, who was sitting on the sidewalk resting.

When the car ran over him, people rushed over and pulled Mehedi out from under the vehicle. Although he was immediately sent to Kurmitola General Hospital, he died.

After running over Mehedi, two people got out of the car. Nearby people rushed over, caught one of them who was a teenager, and handed him over to the police. Police then took the teenager into their custody.

Mehedi’s elder brother Moktadir Islam filed a case under the Road Transport Act at Gulshan Police Station. According to the case details, the driver of the car, Akash Mark, 44, drove and ran over Mehedi, causing severe injuries to his head, chest, and back, resulting in his death on the spot.

However, according to video footage circulated on social media and eyewitness accounts, the teenager was in the driver’s seat of the private car that ran over Mehedi. Police released the teenager as his name was not included in the case.

Gulshan Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Ismail Hossain said the teenager was released because his name was not on the list of accused in the case filed by Moktadir.

However, following widespread criticism later, police re-arrested the teenager on Wednesday evening.

According to Gulshan Police Station sources, the teenager is an O Level student at an English-medium school in Gulshan, Dhaka. His father is a captain at Biman Bangladesh Airlines, and the private car is registered under his mother’s name.