HC bans passengers on train rooftops, BR officials to get sacked for negligence 

The High Court (SC) has banned passengers from travelling on train rooftops. Bangladesh Railway (BR) officials, who will fail to implement the HC directive, will be sacked.

Also, passengers who will travel on the roofs of trains will face strict legal action.

The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order on Thursday in the presence of BR and Shohoz.com officials. 

Railway authorities informed the HC bench that a probe body has been formed to investigate the complaints of mismanagement in train ticket sales raised by Mohiuddin Hawlader Roni, a fourth-year DU student.

The HC bench said that people stand in lines for hours to buy train tickets while they are being sold on the black market. 

Responding to this, railway officials admitted their failure in this regard and claimed that they lack adequate manpower. 

The HC then asked how would BR run its operations with such "excuses."

The HC bench said that many railway officials embezzle money by charging ticketless passengers. 

Earlier on Wednesday, the same bench wanted to know what steps the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has taken after Roni's protest at the capital's Kamalapur railway station against corruption in the country's railway sector.

Mohiuddin Roni staged a one-man protest against corruption in the country's rail administration for 13 days till Tuesday.

He was forced to come off his daily programme at Kamalapur Station on Tuesday. Instead, he submitted a memorandum containing his demands and grievances to the director general of Bangladesh Railway.

He started protesting alleged mismanagement and corruption at Bangladesh Railway before Eid ul Azha, after falling victim to the dodgy e-ticketing system.

"Kamalapur Station authority stopped me from entering the station territory yesterday, and today when I went to submit my memorandum to the director general of Bangladesh Railway (at Rail Bhaban), Ansar-police tried to block me from entering the building," Roni said.

He had been showing up at the station since 8 July, with a 6-point charter of demands to reform the railway system.

The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) on Wednesday (20 July) fined Shohoz.com, an online ticketing platform of the country, Tk2 lakh after finding evidence of its mismanagement in selling tickets of BR.

As per the decision of the DNCRP, Roni will get 25% of this penalty (Tk50,000).