Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman granted anticipatory bail

High Court. File photo
High Court. File photo

The High Court on Monday granted four weeks of anticipatory bail to Matiur Rahman, editor and publisher of prominent daily newspaper Prothom Alo, in a case filed over the accidental death of Dhaka Residential Model College student Naimul Abrar.

The editor was asked to surrender in the lower court after the bail period ends. The HC also said to consider the judicial court if Matiur Rahman seeks bail in the case afterwards as it has been filed under a section for bailable offence.

A High Court bench comprising justice Obaidul Hassan and justice EKM Zahirul Huq passed the order after the hearing on Monday.

The court also ordered not to arrest or harass five others, including Kishore Alo editor Anisul Hoque, until the submission of charge-sheet or any other reports regarding the case.
Earlier on Sunday, the High court 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.

Earlier, Matiur 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.

A Dhaka court on Thursday issued arrest warrants against 10 people, including Matiur Rahman.

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.

On Friday, 47 eminent citizens condemned the arrest warrant in a joint statement.

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.

Senior lawyer M Amir-ul-Islam along with Sumaia Aziz, Aftab Uddin Siddiqui, Prashanta Karmakar and Tanzim Al Islam presented Prothom Alo in the court while additional attorney general Mumtaz Uddin Fakir and deputy attorney general Md. Sarwar Hossain represented the state.