The High Court has directed the authorities concerned to remove the ‘suicide’ video of Abu Mohsin Khan, businessman and father-in-law of popular film actor Riaz, from all social sites, including YouTube and Facebook within six hours.
The higher court also barred all TV channels from airing the video.
The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice SM Maniruzaaman issued the order on a suo muto (voluntary) move on Thursday (February 3) following newspaper reports on the incident.
The higher court issued the suo muto order after Supreme Court lawyer AKM Faiz brought the matter to the court’s notice by placing the newspaper reports. The lawyer requested the HC bench for necessary directives, saying that the video content can leave an adverse impact on society if it continues to run on social media.
The court's direction came in when a senior Supreme Court advocate AKM Faiz brought the matter to its notice this morning.
Deputy Attorney General Samarendranath Biswas confirmed the matter.
The HC bench also asked the authorities concerned to submit a report to the court after complying with the directive in three working days. The Home Ministry and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) were asked to implement the directive.
Abu Mohsin Khan committed ‘suicide’ at his home at Dhanmondi in Dhaka around 9:45pm on Wednesday. He live-streamed his ‘suicide’ on Facebook as he shot himself in the head. The businessman talked about his loneliness and several other miseries of his life before pulling the trigger.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Dhanmondi Police Station Ikram Ali Mia told media that Abu Mohsin Khan lived alone in his house on Dhanmondi road 7 and committed suicide with his own licensed gun at the house.
During that Facebook Live, Abu Mohsin Khan said, “I am a 58-year old man, and at one point in my life I was a very good businessman. Now I am suffering from cancer. So now, I have no business or anything else. The purpose of coming live today is to share my experience with you. You may learn a lot from this experience, and I want you to be careful.”
He blamed one of his friends for embezzling Tk 23-25 lakh from him. “So far I have lost TK 5.2 crore to fraudulence,” he added.
He also said, “My aunt died on January 30. She had a son who lives outside of the country but did not return after receiving the news of his mother’s death. This incident has moved me and made me very sad, as I also have a son who lives in Australia, and I am also currently living completely alone in my residence.”
“I have been scared since the death of my aunt. I have a feeling that if I die in my residence, I don’t think anyone would know in a week. Altogether these are the reasons behind this live video,” he added.
Abu Mohsin Khan then said, “The lion’s share of what parents earn is spent on their children. Real parents try to feed their children without having food for themselves, try to give everything to the family. However, sometimes the family members don’t want to understand the sacrifice. I am not being able to adjust myself to these situations anymore. This is my last meeting with those who are watching.”
The man then shot himself in the head with a pistol while reciting the Kalema. Showing the license of his weapon, he said, “It is not illegal, it is licensed and has also been renewed. I am leaving.”
In that 16-minute Facebook Live, he also made a detailed statement directing how and where he wishes to be buried. He said, “Relatives who are there, don’t bury me in the graveyard that I made, as my father did not give me the place. There is a graveyard at Mohammadpur Beribadh in the capital, bury me there. Everyone cheated on me. My father, mother, brothers, everyone, and everyone.”
Abu Mohsin Khan then apologizes to his son and daughter at the last stage of the video. He then shot himself.
Actor Riaz has been married to Abu Mohsin Khan’s daughter Mushfika Tina since 2007.
