A Dhaka juvenile court on Sunday refused bail to housemaid Khadiza Khatun Sumi in connection with the killing of a Special Branch officer and his wife at their residence in the capital last month.
Muhammad Anwar Sadat, a magistrate of Dhaka Juvenile Delinquent Trial Court, passed the order after hearing a bail prayer by Sumi’s lawyer. The court also ordered the girl to be detained at a juvenile correctional facility at Konabari, Gazipur. Defense counsel Fahmida Akhter Rinky told the Dhaka Tribune that she would petition a higher court for Sumi’s bail.
Sumi’s mother, Saleha Begum, her father, Nuru Miah, and her brother were present in court during the hearing.
Sumi burst into tears after seeing her parents and her younger brother for the first time since her detention on August 17.
On September 19, three human rights organisations, including Bangladesh Mohila Ainjibi Samity and Ain o Salish Kendra filed petitions before the court seeking bail for Sumi. The two organisations also sought an order for transferring Sumi to their respective safe homes after her bail.
On August 16, Special Branch Inspector Mahfuzur Rahman and his wife, Swapna Rahman, were found murdered in their Chamelibagh flat. The next day, the couple’s teenage daughter, Oishee, along with Sumi surrendered at the Paltan police station. Detective police also arrested Oishee’s boyfriend, Mizanur Rahman Rony, the same day.