A legal notice has been served to the district administrations to implement a High Court verdict which asked them to prohibit movement of unauthorised three-wheelers, known as Nasiman or Kariman or Bhatbhati, on highways to prevent road accident.
The notice, sent to the deputy commissioners, police superintendents of southern districts, and the deputy inspector general of police on Wednesday, also asked them to report to the High Court in seven days what steps were taken to ban the illegal motorised vehicles.聽
Lawyer Manzill Murshid served the notice to the DCs and SPs of Khulna, Bagerhat, Jessore, Satkhira, Narail, Magura, Jheniadah, Chuadanga, Meherpur and Kushtia.聽
On January 25, 2017, the High Court directed the home secretary, concerned DCs, SPs and highway police鈥檚 chief to make highways off limits to locally improvised unauthorised slow vehicles known as 鈥榥asiman鈥� or 鈥榢ariman鈥� or Bhatbhati, to prevent road accident.
The bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo delivered the verdict after hearing a public interest litigation writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh in 2014.
The High Court also directed the authorities concerned not to allow on highways any vehicle without fitness certificate.
It asked home secretary to issue a circular asking district administrations prohibiting movement of the unauthorised vehicles on highways.
The High Court also asked the police to take action against drivers and owners of the unauthorised vehicles if they are driven on highways in breach of the directive.
It also asked the deputy inspector general of police (highways) and superintendents of police to stop the plying of Nasiman or Kariman or Bhatbhati on highways particularly in the aforesaid districts.聽
The court asked the respondents to submit compliance report in each three months.
The notice said that hundreds of citizens have been killed in the past seven years since the pronouncement of the verdict as the DCS, SPs and the highway police鈥� DIG were indifferent to implement the verdict.