Eight persons get seven years in jail

CHATTOGRAM, July 10: A Chattogram court has awarded seven-year jail to eight people in a case over collapse of three girders of the under-construction flyover at Bahaddarhat in the port-city.
The court of Chattogram Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Shariful Alam Bhuiya gave the verdict on Wednesday. On June 25, the court set July 10 as the day to announce the verdict after presentation of arguments of the state and the accused.
The convicted - Gias Uddin, Manjurul Islam, Abdul Jalil, Aminur Rahman, Abdul Hye, Mosharraf Hossain, Shahjahan Ali and Rafiqul Islam - are former employees of contractor firm Mir Akhter and Parisa Trade System. All the accused were present in the court when the verdict was announced.
The court sentenced the accused persons seven years imprisonment under separate clauses. It gave five years of imprisonment, and six more months of imprisonment without payment of a fine of Tk 3,00,000. Each of them got two years imprisonment under another section. The allegations against them were proved by two investigation committees.
Advocate S U Nurul Islam, the lawyer of accused, said, "We are not satisfied with the verdict. We'll appeal against it."
A total of 13 people were killed and more than 50 others injured in the flyover collapse on 24 November 2012. The Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) was building the flyover.
On 26 November 2012, the then sub inspector (SI) of Chandgaon thana Abul Kalam Azad filed a case against 25 people on charge of negligence of duty. After investigation, police filed charge-sheet against eight people in the court on 24 October 2013.