Don’t arrest, harass Prothom Alo editor, 5 others: HC
The High Court on Sunday ordered the law enforcement not to arrest or harass Prothom Alo editor and publisher Matiur Rahman and five others until the hearing of the bail petition in a case filed over the accidental death of Dhaka Residential Model College student Naimul Abrar is held.
The court also fixed Monday for hearing the bail petitions.
The High Court bench of justice Obaidul Hassan and justice AKM Zahirul Huq passed the order.
Earlier, Matur Rahman and five others -- Prothom Alo deputy editor Anisul Hoque, Kabir Bakul, Mahitul Alam Pavel, Shuvashish Pramanik Shuvo and Shah Paran Tushar -- appeared before the court seeking bail in the case.
Senior lawyer M Amir-ul-Islam said the court ordered law enforcement not to arrest Prothom Alo editor and five others until the bail hearing.
Other accused in the case are associate editor Anisul Hoque, head of events and activation Kabir Bakul, executive Shuvashish Pramanik, Kishor Alo senior sub editor Mahitul Alam, executive Shah Paran Tushar, a certain Jasim Uddin of the decoration and generator supplier company, Mosharraf Hossain, Sujan and Kamrul Hawlader.
Dhaka’s additional chief metropolitan magistrate Md Kaysarul Islam passed the order taking the charge sheet submitted by Mohammadpur police station into cognisance.
They said that they consider the case as a motivated one, taking into cognizance the way important persons of the government have made statements before and after the case and the way the editor of Prothom Alo has been framed in this case.
On 6 November, the victim’s father Mojibur Rahman filed the case with the court in this connection. The court directed the Mohammedpur police to investigate the case and submit its report in this connection.
In the case, Mujibur Rahman alleged that his son Abrar was electrocuted during the anniversary programme of Prothom Alo’s youth magazine Kishor Alo due to ‘negligence’ on the DRMC premises on 1 November.