Parents of Milestone tragedy victims present 8 demands, call for school relocation

Families of students killed in the plane crash at Milestone School and College in Uttara's Diabari have placed eight demands, including relocating the school and allowing access to CCTV footage from the day of the incident.

The parents and relatives staged a human chain today (12 August) around 7:30am near the Metro Station Depot adjacent to the school, accusing the school authorities of excessive commercialism and negligence.

Several parents alleged that the school was trying to appease families by offering free tuition to surviving siblings, which they rejected. They demanded closure of the school if justice was not served.

A parent named Sanzida alleged, "The school is trying to lure us by offering free education for our children. We want this school shut down. My brother's daughter died, and I couldn't even see her body after coming from abroad. If justice is not served in this country, I will, if necessary, bring human rights experts from abroad."

The families' demands include:

1. A fair and transparent investigation, with justice for the victims

2. Nationwide ban on coaching businesses run by schools, including Milestone

3. Compensation of Tk5 crore for each deceased child and Tk1 crore for each injured child by the government

4. Compensation of Tk2 crore for each deceased child and Tk1 crore for each injured child by the school authorities

5. Relocation of the school away from the runway (or relocation of the runway)

6. Removal of the school branch head teacher (Ms Khadija), accused of leading the coaching business, within 72 hours and her prosecution after investigation

7. Public release of the school's CCTV footage from the day of the incident

8. Relocation of Air Force training activities to uninhabited areas

"We still don't know what has been investigated or what justice has been delivered," said Sabbir, uncle of victim Umme Afia. Another parent, Leon, stressed the need for strict policies to prevent such tragedies and reiterated that the coaching business at the school was widely known and directly linked to the deaths.

Rina Akter, mother of third-grader Saima Akter who died in the tragedy, alleged that her daughter felt pressured to join coaching classes because teachers treated students differently based on participation. She claimed that the coaching system ultimately cost her daughter's life, and accused school founder retired Colonel Nurun Nabi of prioritising the institution's reputation over justice for victims' families. She said, "Who are you that it takes us 20 days to get an appointment with you? You called us after 20 days, why? To save your college? Now you try to tempt us by offering free education for other members of our families, why? Do our children mean nothing to you? After the fire incident, you removed all the vehicles, but why didn't you care about the children? You claim Milestone College doesn't have coaching classes. If there's no coaching, why do your teachers not even show affection unless students join there? And how can you lie like that? Your headmistress and teachers take a share of the coaching fees. Your headmistress calls our family members to collect their information, why? Why do you threaten us? How much more harassment will you subject us to, Mr Nurunnabi?"

The protest ended with repeated chants demanding accountability and justice for the children who died.