A schoolteacher was arrested by police in Barguna on Wednesday night for torturing her 10-year-old domestic help with steel ruler and rolling pin earlier this week.
The accused, Tania Begum, is a teacher at Arpangashia Government Primary School in Amtali upazila of Barguna, sources said.
The victim said she had been employed in Tania's home since November last year.
On Monday evening, Tania told the victim to hold her two-year-old daughter who was crying, but the victim did not follow her instruction.
Angered by her “disobedience,” Tania started beating her with a steel ruler, and later with a rolling pin.
After beating her, Tania and her husband, Rafiqul Islam, accountant at Betagi Upazila Health Complex, locked her up in a room.
The incident came to light when the victim managed to escape on Tuesday evening and took shelter in the house of the local ward councillor.
The victim had visible bruises and injuries on her body, including a cut on her right ankle and a blackened left eye.
The accused teacher denied the allegations against her and said she had not tortured the child.
But when asked about her bruises, she said the victim slipped on the floor and hurt herself.
Police promptly arrested the accused after word got out about the victim, said Amtali police station OC Pulak Chandra Roy.
The victim's uncle has filed a case under the Child Act with the police station in this regard, the OC added.