An 11-year-old girl, Mariya, had been employed as a domestic worker in a house in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. In return, her father, Masud Islam, received money to buy an auto-rickshaw. After just four months, the child was found dead.
On Saturday, at around 3pm, the girl allegedly committed suicide by hanging a scarf from a ceiling fan in the fifth-floor apartment in Road 9/A, West Dhanmondi, according to the house owner, Nasrin Sultana.
On Saturday afternoon, after news of the child’s death spread, over a hundred people gathered in front of the Dhanmondi residence. From the afternoon until nearly 10pm, they alleged that the child had been “murdered”.
However, before the crowd gathered, the child was first taken to Bangladesh Medical College Hospital in Dhanmondi and later to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). At around 4:30pm, doctors declared her dead. The body was then taken to the morgue of DMCH for post-mortem examination. Following the post-mortem on Monday, the body may be handed over to her family.
Mariya’s maternal grandmother, Bakuli Begum, told reporters on Saturday that she has also been working as a house help in a neighbouring flat of Nasrin Sultana’s flat for the past ten years. She said she was informed in the afternoon that Mariya had hanged herself with a scarf from a ceiling fan.
Rima, the wife of Bakuli Begum’s son Shah Alam, told Bangla Tribune that she believes the child was “murdered” in the morning and then hanged. Later, at around 12pm, Nasrin Sultana reportedly went out of the house. They were then informed that Mariya had committed suicide in her absence. Rima also works as a house help in another flat in the same building.
On Sunday, Mariya’s father, Masud Islam, told Bangla Tribune that his daughter may have taken her own life due to physical abuse. He declined to make any further comments.
Police and family said that Mariya’s family had reached an agreement with Nasrin Sultana in exchange for Tk400,000. Following this, in the afternoon on Sunday, Masud Islam filed an unnatural death case at Dhanmondi police station in Dhaka.
SI Jannatul Ferdousi of Dhanmondi police station, who is in charge of the child’s post-mortem, told Bangla Tribune that Mariya’s father has filed an unnatural death case at the station. The case statement alleges that the child committed suicide by hanging herself. However, whether there was any other cause of death will only be determined after the post-mortem report is received.
Hamidul Islam, the brother of house owner Nasrin Sultana, told Bangla Tribune that his sister was not at home at the time of the incident. She also lives alone, and her children reside abroad. A mob had gathered outside the house over what was essentially a normal incident. Later, law enforcement personnel arrived and brought the situation under control.
Police and her family have reviewed CCTV footage, which shows that the child took her own life.
He added that, having seen everything, Mariya’s family is now inclined towards reaching a settlement. From a humanitarian perspective, he noted, some support was necessary for Mariya’s family since she had been working in their household.
