Testimony in inciting Aritri to suicide case deferred

A Dhaka court has fixed April 3 by deferring the testimony in a case filed over the death of Aritri Adhikari, a ninth-grade student of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, for allegedly inciting suicide.  

The court of Dhaka’s Third Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Rabiul Alam fixed the date on Monday due to the absence of witnesses. The testimony of ten people, in this case, has been completed.  

The case was scheduled to be heard on the day. The two accused, who were on bail, appeared in court. However, as the witness was not present, the prosecution appealed for time. The court then fixed April 3 for the next testimony. 

The accused in the case are – Nazneen Ferdous, acting principal of Viqarunnisa Noon School and Zinat Akhter, branch head.

According to the case sources, Aritri’s father Dilip Adhikari filed a case with Paltan Police Station on December 4, 2018. Then on March 20, 2019, the investigating officer of the case, Metropolitan Detective Police (DB) Inspector Kamrul Hasan Talukder, filed a chargesheet accusing the two teachers.

The complaint states that Aritri was “incited to commit suicide due to the ruthless behavior and uneducated behavior of the accused”.

As the allegation was not proved, a petition was made to release class teacher Hasna Hena. On July 10, 2019, the court framed charges against the two teachers and ordered a trial to begin.

Testimony started on November 25, 2019, through the statement of Dilip Adhikari, the plaintiff and Aritri’s father. After that, on August 23 of this year, Aritri’s mother, Beauty, testified in court.

The case alleges that a teacher found a mobile phone from Aritri during an examination on December 3, 2018. “Aritri copied via mobile phone” – with such allegations, Aritri’s parents were asked to come to school. When Dilip Adhikari went to school with his wife and daughter, the vice principal insulted them and asked them to leave the room. When he went to the principal’s room, she did the same. At that moment, Aritri hurried out of the principal’s room. Later, when Dilip Adhikari went to his house in Shantinagar in the capital, he saw Ariti was hanging in her room with the ceiling fan.