Aritry suicide: Court issues warrants for ex-Viqarunnisa principal Nazneen Ferdous, teacher Zinnat Ara

They are accused in a case on charges of instigating ninth grade student Aritry Adhikary to take her own life

A Dhaka court has issued arrest warrants for Viqarunnisa Noon School and College’s former principal Nazneen Ferdous and teacher Zinnat Ara in a case on charges of instigating ninth grade student Aritry Adhikary to take her own life.

Dhaka Additional Metropolitan Session Judge Abdullah Al Mamun issued the arrest warrant against the two on Thursday.

“Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court-3 transferred the case to Abdullah’s court following the suspects’ failure to attend a hearing. The court later set Mar 28 for the next hearing, but the suspects did not appear before the court, prompting the judge to issue the arrest warrants,” plaintiff’s lawyer Sabuj Baray said.

The court set Apr 18 for the next hearing in the case, he added.

A Dhaka court framed charges against the suspects in 2019. DB Inspector Kazi Kamrul Islam, who was the investigation officer in the case, pressed charges against Nazneen Akhtar and Zinnat on Mar 20 that year.

Sacked Viqarunnisa teacher Hasna Hena was acquitted of charges as allegations against her were not proven during the investigation.

According to the case dossier, Aritry was barred from a 2018 exam after she was found to be cheating by using a mobile phone. When Aritry took her parents to school, they were brought to the principal's room, where they were insulted. The authorities also threatened to rusticate her.

Aritry entered her room and locked the door after returning home from school. Her body was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her room in Dhaka’s Shantinagar afterwards.

Her father Dilip Adhikary later started a case against Nazneen, morning shift headmistress Zinnat and class teacher Hasna Hena at Paltan Police Station.