A Dhaka court on Sunday ordered to send Daily Star executive editor Syed Ashfaqul Haque and his wife Tanya Khandkar to prison after remand for four days in a case of domestic worker's 'negligent death'.

Metropolitan magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury made the order after Detective Branch’s Mohammadpur zonal team inspector Mohammad Shariful Islam requested to bring the accused to the court and keep them in jail, reports The Daily Sun.

Investigation officer Mohammad Shariful Islam said that that the accused were extensively interrogated on remand.
“During the interrogation, they avoided answering several questions about the incident in the case. However, the information that has been received is being scrutinised,” he said.

Before Preeti Udan's death, on August 4 last year, a seven-year-old maid named Ferdowsi fell from the ninth floor through the same window in the same house.

Investigation officers mentioned that Preeti's parents wanted to talk through the accused's mobile phone sometimes. Preeti used to cry a lot and could not speak properly under pressure from accused Syed Ashfaqul Haque and his wife Tania Khondker. Preeti did not even get a chance to meet her relatives when they came to Dhaka.

DB Tejgaon Division additional deputy commissioner Anich Uddin said the acussed avoided answering many questions while the police are verifying the information.

On February 6, housekeeper Preeti Urang was rescued and taken to Suhrawardy Hospital in a bloody state. The doctor on duty said that he died before being taken to the hospital. 

Lokesh Urang, the father of Preeti Urang, who was killed in this incident, filed a case at Mohammadpur police station as the plaintiff. Syed Ashfaqul Haque and his wife Tania Khondaker have been made accused in the case. 304(a) of the Penal Code has been alleged in the case for causing death by negligence.

Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Sultan Sohag Uddin's court ordered to send him to prison without granting remand and bail after hearing the case. The court ordered to interrogate them at the jail gate within three working days.

Meanwhile, a platform tiled  'Shahbagh Against Oppression' has expressed dismay over the statement of Daily Start Editor Mahfuz Anam regarding the death of a child domestic worker Preeti Urang at home of a journalist of the newspaper.

The rights activists have termed the statement as commendable even after 10 days of the incident and raised several questions and expressed hope that the newspaper would play a role in bringing justice.

In a open letter issued on Sunday, the rights platform claimed that Daily Star is supporting child killing as the newspaper is yet to terminate the accused journalist.

“How we expect justice for child victim like Preeti or Ferdousi at same home? Why are such incidents happening again and again in the same house - have you considered the issue as a responsible media?,” read the statement.

The rights activists mentioned that Daily Star is acting ‘biased role’ to save its staff who are allegedly involved in child murder.

Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque