Court issues arrest order for Prothom Alo editor, 9 others over student's death

A Dhaka court has issued an arrest warrant for Prothom Alo's Editor Matiur Rahman, Associate Editor Anisul Hoque and eight others over the death of Dhaka Residential Model College student Abrar Rahat, who was electrocuted during an event organised by the newspaper’s youth magazine Kishor Alo on the school campus.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaisarul Islam passed the order on Thursday after accepting a report submitted by Mohammadpur police.

According to Omar Faruk Asif, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, the report submitted by Mohammadpur Police Station's Inspector Abdul Alim stated that Abrar's death resulted from the negligence of the event's organisers Kishor Alo.  

Rahat’s father Md Mujibur Rahman filed a case with Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court on Nov 6 alleging that negligence on part of the organisers caused his son's death.

Mujibur had earlier filed a case of unnatural death over the incident on Nov 1 and the court ordered Mohammadpur police to complete the investigation into both complaints by Dec 1.

Rahat, 15, a nonresident student of class nine, received electric shock from a power generator set up behind a stage erected for 'Ki Ananda' -- an event organised by Kishor Alo, a magazine published by Matiur Rahman.

Rahat, who hails from Noakhali, lived with his family at the capital's Agargaon.

After the incident, he was taken to the Universal Medical College Hospital in Mohakhali where doctors pronounced him dead.