S Alam Group pays Tk5 lakh to each family of 7 Banshkhali clash victims

S Alam Group has paid a total of Tk35 lakh to seven families of the workers killed in the Banshkhali police firing incident on 17 April this year, with each victim's family receiving Tk5 lakh.

Lawyer for S Alam Group, Mohammad Arshadur Rahman, recently submitted an affidavit confirming this to a High Court (HC) bench led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim. 

Lest this be considered as final restitution in any way, the state has requested additional time from the HC bench for reports to be submitted by the two probe committees formed to investigate the Banshkhali incident. The two separate probe committees are headed by the local deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police, respectively.

Deputy Attorney General of the High Court, Bipul Bagmar told the media that the court had initially given 45 days to the two committees to submit the reports but the state had then requested additional time.

On 4 May, the High Court ordered S Alam Group to pay Tk5 lakh each to the families of the victims in the power plant incident as initial compensation.

At the same time, the court issued a rule questioning why compensation of Tk3 crore may not be given to the family of each deceased worker, and Tk2 crore to the family of each injured worker.

The court also asked why should there not be a judicial inquiry into the incident.

Earlier, on 22 April, a human rights group had filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking directives for a judicial inquiry into the clash between police and workers at the coal-fired power plant in Banshkhali Upazila. On 27 April, five more organizations also filed a writ petition with the High Court in regards to the same incident.