Daily Star Sacks Executive Editor Ashfaqul Haque

Popular English daily The Daily Star has terminated its executive director Syed Ashfaqul Haque, with immediate effect. 

In a notice on its website on Tuesday, the newspaper said, “The management of The Daily Star has issued a termination notice to Syed Ashfaqul Haque, the newspaper's Executive Editor. The notice takes effect immediately.” 

In the noticeentioned that noting his previous positions, the notice mentioned that Syed Ashfaqul Haque  joined the newspaper in 1993 in the sports section and worked as sports editor, joint news editor, news editor, chief news editor, and finally as its executive editor from 2019 till date.

On Feb 6, minor domestic worker Preeti Urang 'fell to her death' from Ashfaqul’s house in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur.

In that tragic incident, where Peeti was seen hanging from a railing for approximately 13 minutes, stirred unrest in the neighborhood, prompting claims that she had been murdered. Locals launched a protest over the incident.

Later on the following day, Preeti’s father Lokesh Urang filed a case at the Mohammadpur Police Station over the incident.

Police said they wrote the case statement and read it out to Lokesh before taking his fingerprint as a proof of his consent because he is illiterate, but Lokesh and his wife Namita Urang said they believed it was the part of formalities to receive the dead body of their daughter.

Ashfaqul and his wife Tania Khondoker are in jail in connection with the case over culpable homicide charges. Their attempts to secure bail failed several times.

Previously, on Aug 6, 2023, a 7-year-old domestic worker, identified with a single name as Ferdousi, also fell from the same house.