A 10-year old housemaid is undergoing treatment at the One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital after allegedly being tortured by one of her employers over a domestic dispute in the city’s Mohakhali area.
The victim, identifed as Mahi Akhter, was admitted to the specialised unit of the state-run hospital Wednesday afternoon with injury marks all over her body, OSCC coordinator Bilkis Akter said.
“She is now undergoing treatment at the hospital, and we are monitoring her physical condition and giving her different types of medicines so that she can recover from her injuries,” Bilkis said.
Mahi, who comes from Shologhor village in Barisal district, was abandoned by her parents when they divorced five years ago.
Alam Khan, her uncle and legal guardian, told the Dhaka Tribune that the girl had been working for a married couple at Mohakhali for the past four years.
About four months ago, the relationship between the couple began to sour and they fought constantly, Alam claimed. As Mahi refused to take sides, the wife, Morium Sultana, allegedly started beating her, tied her hands and feet with chains and confined her inside a room, he added.
“After the husband informed me about Mahi’s situation, I rescued her from the house with the help of Banani police on September 3, and admitted her to Dhaka medical” Alam said. She was shifted to the OSCC after her condition deteriorated.
Morium, a college teacher, refuted the allegations against her. She claimed that her husband, Rasel Sarder, was blaming her as she would not give him money for expenses after he reportedly quit his job.
Rasel, an official at a garments factory in Gazipur, said his wife tried to use Mahi against him as she wanted to cut off all relationship with him.
Abul Bashar, sub-inspector of Banani police station, said no case was filed yet in connection with the alleged torture of a minor.
