The couple that was arrested a few days back for reportedly torturing a minor girl who was a househelp at their flat in Dhaka’s Rupnagar neighbourhood, has been sent to jail by the court.
Sajjadul Bashar, an employee at a local hospital, and his wife Shahnaj Begum, were sent to jail on Sunday, confirmed Rupnagar police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abul Kalam Azad.
He said: “The victim is undergoing treatment at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital. We will take all necessary measures to ensure the culprits get the maximum punishment for their wrongdoings.”
On Saturday morning, police arrested the husband and wife after receiving information about the matter from locals.
The victim, a 10-year-old girl from Noakhali, was working at the couple’s house for a year for Tk1,000 per month.
She told the police that the couple had been physically abusing her for a long time for trivial matters.
Her primary job responsibility was to take care of the two children of the house but the couple forced her to do other tasks as well.
On Saturday morning, Shahnaj reportedly poured boiling water on the minor girl when she made a mistake in one of her chores.
Hearing the girl’s creams, neighbours rushed to the spot and contacted the police, said Asaduzzaman, sub-inspector of Rupnagar police station.
Mokammel Haque, inspector (operations) of the police station, said a police team rescued the minor girl from the flat and took her to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital for treating her burn injuries.
Police arrested the couple after a complaint was lodged against them.
There are signs of physical abuse on the girl’s body, and she is traumatized from repeated torture, said Asaduzzaman.
