The High Court has ordered the formation of a panel headed by a public servant to probe the incident of a Dhaka schoolgirl’s suicide after the principal allegedly insulted the parents and her.
The body of Viqarunnisa Noon School ninth-grader Aritree Adhikari was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her room locked from inside on Monday (Dec 3).
The family of the 15-year-old girl claimed she killed herself suicide after the principal insulted her and the parents of because she had cheated in an exam.
Principal Nazneen Ferdous, however, refutes the allegation of insulting the parents.
The bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader said the five-strong panel headed by an additional secretary to the education ministry will comprise of a psychologist, a legal expert, a representative of the social welfare ministry and an educationalist.
The panel has been ordered to file a report within a month.
The order on Tuesday (Dec 4) came after lawyers including, Jyotirmoy Barua, Anik R Haq and Ainun Nahar Siddiqua brought the court’s attention to the matter.
The court also issued a rule asking why an order will not be given to form a five-strong national counselling committee and formulate guidelines to curb suicides of students.
The court said during the hearing that the students killing themselves were rampant, lawyer Anik R Haq told Bangla Tribune.
“Emphasising on counselling for adolescents and creating the post of a counsellor at educational institutions, it said that a guideline was imminent,” he said.