2 children ‘thrown overboard’ into Meghna River

A Chandpur-bound passenger launch’s staff allegedly threw two children into the Meghna River in Munshiganj on Saturday morning after an altercation over ticket fare. Police rescued Sakib, 12, and Mehedi Hasan, 13, and sent them home. The Naval Police and Gazaria Police Station officials are investigating the matter and interrogating the accused staff of MV Imam Hasan-5 launch.

Gazaria Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Rais Uddin rescued the children two kilometres offshore.

“I was going the Munshiganj on Saturday morning by a speed boat and saw the two children swimming towards the bank, crying for help,” he told The Business Post.

Rais said the children used to sell water bottles on passenger launches and lived in Dhaka with their families.

“They were on board MV Imam Hasan-5. The launch staff threw them overboard as they could not pay regular passenger fare,” he said, quoting the children.

But Delwar Hossain, the master of MV Imam Hasan-5, has rejected the allegation, claiming that the children jumped into the river themselves.

Police have filed a general diary at Gazaria Police Station over the incident.