Friday, February 7

End impunity of influentials violating traffic rules: HC


DRIVING ON WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD

End impunity of influentials violating traffic rules: HC

A police van escorts the vehicle, apparently of a minister, on the wrong side of the street near Ruposhi Bangla hotel in the capital violating traffic rules and risking a head-on collision. A long queue of vehicles follow suit to take advantage of the impunity the “minister's” vehicle is getting. The photo was taken yesterday. Photo: Amran Hossain

News Desk: A police van escorts the vehicle, apparently of a minister, on the wrong side of the street near Ruposhi Bangla hotel in the capital violating traffic rules and risking a head-on collision.
A long queue of vehicles follow suit to take advantage of the impunity the “minister’s” vehicle is getting. The photo was taken yesterday.

Pointing out that influential quarters use their impunity to tamper with and violate traffic regulations in Dhaka city, the High Court today asked government why it should not enforce traffic laws strictly to prevent such practices.

“No one should escape from the radar of law with impunity,” an HC bench said while issuing a suo moto rule seeking government explanation in four weeks why the court should not issue order to enforce traffic laws in the city.

The rule came after The Daily Star published a report today headlined ‘INFLUENTIALS on the WRONG SIDE’ with the photograph of a minister’s motorcade.

The bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Ashraful Kamal passed the order.

Home secretary, inspector general of police, commissioner of Dhaka metropolitan police and DMP joint commissioner (traffic) have been made respondents to the rule.

The respondents will have to submit a report before the court on November 27 on steps taken in compliance of the HC directive.

Today’s Daily Star report pointed out that traffic police and even a minister appear helpless in preventing government high-ups from driving on the wrong side of Dhaka streets, making top government officials untouchable by traffic laws.

 Traffic policemen on the ground continue to overlook vehicles taking the wrong side of roads saying the rules violators are influential people and they may face serious repercussions if they penalise them, it wrote.

Referring to the Daily Star report, the HC today said: “It is common knowledge that some VIPs and VVIPs use the wrong side of various streets of Dhaka showing disregard to traffic laws, and thus compound the problem of traffic congestion further.”
“It is the mandate of Article 27 of the constitution that all citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of law. No one should escape the law with impunity, however highly placed the person may be.”
All citizens irrespective of their status and position in the society must abide by the traffic rules, for failing which, serious traffic tangles and accidents may take place taking a heavy toll on human life, the bench observed.