Charge hearing against ex-Daily Star executive editor, wife deferred

 
A Dhaka court on Wednesday deferred until September 2 the hearing on charge framing against former The Daily Star executive editor Syed Ashfaqul Haque and his wife, Tania Khandaker, in a case over the alleged negligent death of domestic worker Priti Orang.

Judge Md Alamgir Hossain of the First Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court rescheduled the hearing after the defence sought more time to prepare. 

According to the prosecution, Priti had worked at the couple’s eighth-floor apartment on Shahjahan Road in Mohammadpur for nearly two years before the incident.

She sustained critical injuries after falling through an unprotected glass opening in the apartment on February 6, 2024, and later died in hospital. Her father, Lokesh Orang, subsequently filed the case.

Following an investigation, Detective Branch Sub-Inspector SM Mahmud Reza submitted a charge sheet against the two accused on March 31.
The case was transferred from the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court to the Metropolitan Sessions Court on June 16 for trial proceedings.