Trial against ex-Daily Star journalist Ashfaqul, wife begins

A Dhaka court has ordered the trial of former Daily Star executive editor Syed Ashfaqul Haque and his wife Tania Khandaker in a case filed over the alleged “death due to negligence” of domestic aide Preeti Urang.

Dhaka’s Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Alamgir Hossain rejected the accused’s petitions seeking their discharge and indicted them on Wednesday.

Mohammad Billal Hossain, additional public prosecutor of the court, said it set Jan 4, 2027, to begin recording witness testimony in the case.

Both accused were present in court during the hearing on charge framing. Their lawyers, Chaitanya Chandra Haldar and Omar Faruk Asif, argued for their discharge, while Billal Hossain represented the state and argued in favour of framing charges.

After hearing both sides, the court asked the two accused whether they pleaded guilty or not guilty.

They pleaded not guilty and sought justice. The court subsequently ordered that charges be formally framed against them.

According to the case details, Preeti’s family home is located at the Mirtinga Tea Garden in Kamalganj Upazila, about 12 kilometres from Moulvibazar Sadar.

For around two years before the incident, the girl had been working as a domestic aide at Ashfaqul’s apartment on the eighth floor of a high-rise building on Shahjahan Road in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur.

On the morning of Feb 6, 2024, Preeti fell from the apartment through a gap in a glass window in the living room, as the window allegedly lacked a safety barrier. She sustained serious injuries and later died while undergoing treatment at a hospital.

Following the incident, Preeti’s father, Lokesh Urang, filed a case. Police arrested Ashfaqul and Tania in connection with the case

After completing the investigation, Sub-Inspector SM Mahmud Reza of the Detective Branch’s Tejgaon Zonal Team submitted a charge sheet against the two accused to the court on Mar 31.

As the case became ready for trial, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court of Dhaka transferred it to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court on Jun 16.

Ashfaqul and Tania spent around four months in jail. They were released on bail granted by the High Court in June 2024.

On Apr 2, 2024, The Daily Star authorities announced that Ashfaqul had been relieved of his position while he was in jail in connection with the case over Preeti’s death.