Police have submitted a charge sheet against former executive editor of The Daily Star Syed Ashfaqul Haque and his wife Tania Khandaker in a case filed over the alleged death by negligence of domestic worker Priti Urang.
As the case is now ready for trial, a Dhaka court has ordered its transfer to the appropriate court within the Dhaka Metropolitan area.
On March 31, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jamshed Alam accepted the charge sheet and directed that the case be sent to the relevant trial court. Sub-Inspector Mizanur Rahman of the prosecution department confirmed the matter.
The charge sheet was submitted by Detective Branch (DB) SI SM Mahmud Reza following an investigation. It states that allegations of negligence against Syed Ashfaqul Haque and his wife Tania Khandaker, were found to be prima facie substantiated. A total of 19 witnesses have been listed in the case.
According to the charge sheet, 15-year-old Preeti Urang had been working as a domestic helper for nearly two years at an eighth-floor apartment in a multi-storey building on Shahjahan Road in Mohammadpur. On the morning of February 6, 2024, she allegedly fell through an unprotected glass window opening in the drawing room, sustaining critical injuries that later proved fatal.
Investigators found that another domestic worker, Ferdousi, had previously fallen from a window in the same apartment and suffered injuries. Despite the earlier incident, adequate safety measures were allegedly not installed, the charge sheet said.
After examining physical evidence, DNA test results, viscera and autopsy reports, and witness statements, investigators concluded that Priti's death resulted from the unsafe condition of the window.
The autopsy report, prepared by a forensic specialist at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College, stated that Priti died from neurogenic and hypovolemic shock caused by severe injuries sustained in the fall.
In the charge sheet, SI Mahmud Reza said the evidence collected during the investigation, including forensic findings and the circumstances surrounding the incident, established prima facie grounds for prosecuting the two accused under Section 304A of the Penal Code, which deals with causing death by negligence.
The recommendation to file the charge sheet was later endorsed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Detective Branch’s Tejgaon Division, following which charges under Section 304A were formally brought against the accused.
