A child, aged two and a half years, was put in the dock in Comapnyganj, Sylhet, on Sunday because of sloppy investigation by an inspector. He was even charged with selling adulterated oil.
It all began as Sanitary Inspector Shamsuddin raided “Aftab Store” in Shah Arefin Bazaar of Noakut village on February 27 and found low-grade mustard oil.He sent samples to the Public Health Institute laboratory in the capital.
Upon receiving a negative report, the inspector filed a case against the boy, Aftab Ali, who he thought would be the owner of the store bearing his name.
Aftab’s counsel Ashok Kar told The Daily Star yesterday that if the inspector had bothered to check the trade license of the store, he would have found that Aftab’s father Intaj Ali is the owner.
The court granted Aftab bail, but not before putting the boy through the legal harassment.
The lawyer added the child is likely to be acquitted of the charge soon.
On the other hand, the sanitary inspector moves around free of any charge being slapped on him. The recently passed child act says any individual who passes inaccurate information about a minor to a court has to be punished.
The law calls for fining such perpetrators Tk 25,000 or more. Inability to pay the fine will mean six years’ imprisonment.
-With The Daily Star input
