Court Reporter : Biman Bangladesh Airlines Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Shafiqur Rahman, his wife, and two others have been arrested in a child domestic worker abuse case and sent to jail.The arrests were made in the wee hours of Monday night in Uttara, police said. On Monday, Sub-Inspector Romer Mia of Uttara West Police produced them in court and requested custody for interrogation.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ehsanul Islam rejected a bail petition after the hearing and sent them to jail.The other suspects are his wife, known only as Bithi, and two household workers, Rupali Khatun and Ms Sufia Begum.Defence lawyer Zakir Hossain sought bail for the suspects, arguing that Shafiqur, a government officer, was not at home and had no involvement in the incident.He claimed the victim was handed back to her family unharmed, while Shafiqur’s wife was elderly and unwell.
Prosecution police officer SI Tahmina Akter opposed bail, saying: “Driven by poverty, the family sent the 11‑year‑old girl to work. From the moment she entered that house, she was subjected to relentless abuse. Her condition is horrific.”
The case was filed on Sunday by Golam Mostafa, the child’s father and a hotel worker.According to the complaint, security guard Md Jahangir at Shafiqur’s Uttara Sector‑9 residence had been looking for a young domestic worker.He promised Mostafa that the family would bear his daughter’s marriage expenses, leading him to send her there in June last year, it said.
Mostafa last saw his daughter at the house in November, it added.The complaint alleges the girl was not allowed to meet her family afterwards.On Jan 31, Bithi phoned Mostafa, saying the child was ill and should be taken home.
“When he arrived that evening, he found his daughter with severe injuries to her hands and other parts of her body. She was barely able to speak, and Bithi could not explain the condition.”Mostafa admitted her to Gazipur’s Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital, where she told him she had been beaten and even burnt with heated kitchen tools.
Uttara West Police chief Rafique Ahmed told bdnews24.com, “An 11‑year‑old domestic worker has been brutally tortured. A case has been filed, and four people were arrested around 3:30am last night.”
