Police have claimed that the girl who was assaulted in front of Apon Coffee House in the Taltola area of Khilgaon, Dhaka, has mental health issues.
"On Friday, the girl went to the coffee shop to get food. Due to her mental condition, she was reportedly asking for food from customers. Observing this, the shop's employees forced her out of the premises. At one point, she was beaten," said Mohammad Ataur Rahman Akand, the officer-in-charge (OC) of Rampura police station.
The incident gained attention on social media on Monday, after which three people, including the shop owner, were detained. Later, as the owner Ziaur Rahman fell ill, he was released to his family’s custody.
At that time, since the victim couldn’t be located, the police filed a case with Rampura police station that same night, OC Ataur said.
As part of the case, the coffee shop manager, Al Amin, and employee Shubho Sutradhar were arrested and produced before the court on Tuesday, he added.
OC Ataur said that the victim has since been found. "On Tuesday night, the girl came to the police station with her family. She has mental health issues. We questioned her about the incident in front of her family. Today, she was sent to court to give her statement," he added.
According to the OC, the girl went to Apon Coffee Shop for food and asked several customers for something to eat.
This reportedly agitated the manager, Al Amin, who then beat her with a stick. The girl limped away from the scene, the OC said.
The incident later went viral on Facebook.
The OC said that as soon as the video of the assault appeared on social media, police raided the coffee shop and detained manager Al Amin and employee Shubho Sutradhar for questioning.
Regarding the assault, the OC said that during interrogation, the two employees claimed the girl would often enter the shop and disturb customers.
