A Dhaka court has sentenced two drivers and a helper of two buses of Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan to life term rigorous imprisonment each in a case filed over deaths of college students Abdul Karim Rajib and Dia Khanam Mim in a road accident in the city’s Airport Road area in Jul, 2018.

The lifers are Masum Billah and Zobair Hossain Sumon, drivers of the buses; and Kazi Asad, helper of a bus. 

Drivers, helpers and owners of two Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan buses were made accused in the case. 

Of the six accused, four are now behind bars while Kazi Asad and Jahangir Alam are on the run. Among the accused, Masum Billah and bus owner Shahadat Hossain gave confessional statements to the court under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Imrul Qayes announced the verdict on Sunday (Dec 1). 

Earlier on November 14, the court fixed December 1 to pass the verdict as both defence and the prosecution concluded their arguments in the case on that day.

The court examined 37 witnesses including investigation officer of the total 41 witnesses in this much-talked-about case.

The court framed the charges after rejecting discharge petitions filed by four accused out of six accused in the case on Oct 25, 2018.

On Sept 6, 2018, Detective Branch of police submitted a charge sheet to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka against two bus drivers, two helpers, and two owners of two Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan buses.

In the charge sheet, 41 people were made witnesses, which said drivers of two buses of Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan were on competition to get more passengers and drove recklessly by ploughing through people waiting on the pavement.

On Jul 29, 2018, Diya Khanam Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib, students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College, were killed as a Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan bus ploughed through a crowd while competing with another bus of the same company in front of Kurmitola General Hospital in Dhaka's Airport Road.

A massive road safety movement followed after this incident, which led to the foundation of Road Transport Act 2018 that came into force from Nov 1, 2019.