The High Court has ordered an initial compensation of Tk 500,000 for the baby who was born on the highway just after her parents and 6-year-old sister were run over by a truck in Mymensingh.
The High Court bench of Justice Khizir Ahmed Choudhury and Justice Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain passed the orders on Tuesday responding to a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Sayed Mahsib Hossain.
The court also asked the Ministry of Social Welfare to form a committee to take care of the infant. The committee will have to submit a progress report on the child's overall situation within three months.
The Trustee Board, which was formed to settle claims of compensation for road accidents under the Road Transport Act-2018, that Tk 500,000 must be paid to the baby's family as immediate compensation within the next 15 days, the HC directed.
The court also issued a rule asking the government to explain why the Trustee Board should not be directed to provide adequate compensation to the baby and its family.
The women and child affairs secretary, the social welfare secretary, the road transport and bridges secretary and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority were made respondents to the writ petitions. Besides them, the Trustee Board and the owner of the truck responsible for the accident have been asked to respond to the rule within four weeks.
Jahangir Alam, 40, his pregnant wife Ratna Begum, 30, and their daughter Sanjida Khatun, 6, were crossing the highway in Trishal to visit a diagnostic centre for an ultrasonography test of Ratna on Saturday when a truck crushed them.
Ratna gave birth to the baby just before her death on the highway. The infant also had her right arm broken in the accident.
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