Dhaka, Aug 12 (IANS) – Families of those killed in the Bangladesh Air Force fighter jet crash in Dhaka have warned of staging a larger protest if the investigation is delayed, the culprits evade justice, or their demands are not met promptly.
The warning came on Tuesday as grieving relatives formed a human chain at the Milestone School and College campus, voicing an eight-point list of demands, local media reported.
“Today we didn’t come to fight; we came to form a human chain. Not a single teacher or school authority approached us. We are parents who have lost children, yet no one came to speak to us,” Prothom Alo quoted the parents as saying.
The protesters alleged that one teacher physically confronted them during the demonstration, prompting them to add a ninth demand — the immediate removal of the accused teacher.
Among their demands are: a fair investigation and justice, a ban on the coaching business in all educational institutions including Milestone School, relocation of schools from near runways, compensation for victims, and the removal and trial of head teacher Khadija within 72 hours. They also seek access to the school’s CCTV footage and the relocation of Air Force training to uninhabited areas.
Some parents accused the school of pressuring students into paid coaching classes. “Teachers mentally torture children, telling them they cannot keep up in class unless they join coaching,” said Mohammad Abu Shahin, father of victim Borhan Uddin Bappi.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Bangladesh Air Force’s Chinese-made F-7 BGI training aircraft took off at 1:06 p.m. local time on July 21 and crashed into the Milestone School and College building in Uttara at around 1:30 p.m.
The tragedy claimed the lives of over 34 people — most of them children — and left several others injured.
