Child abuse: Ex-Biman CEO Shafiqur refuses to give confessional statement after consent, sent to jail
While Shafiqur declined the statement in the judge’s chambers, another accused, a domestic worker named Sufia Khatun, provided her confessional statement regarding the brutal torture of 11-year-old Mohona.
Md Shafiqur Rahman, former managing director and CEO of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, refused to give a confessional statement at a Dhaka court today (20 February) in a case over the alleged abuse of an 11‑year‑old domestic worker, despite having previously consented to do so.
While Shafiqur declined the statement in the judge's chambers, another accused, a domestic worker named Sufia Khatun, provided her confessional statement regarding the brutal torture of 11-year-old Mohona.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Albiruni Mir recorded Sufia's statement and subsequently ordered that both accused be sent to jail.
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The development follows the completion of their respective remand periods, during which the investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Robel Mia of Uttara West Police Station, said the accused requested to have their confessional statements recorded as they had voluntarily agreed to do so during their remand period.
The prosecution insisted that the suspects remain in custody for the sake of a fair investigation, as the child continues her recovery from wounds that doctors say were inflicted repeatedly without any provocation.
The woes of the 11-year-old
The case involves the physical and mental abuse of 11-year-old Mohona, who had been working at Shafiqur's Uttara Sector 9 residence since June last year.
Her father, a hotel employee from Panchagarh, was lured into the arrangement by a security guard's promise that the couple would bear all of Mohona's future expenses, including her marriage.
However, after a final meeting in November, the family was barred from seeing her.
On 31 January, Mohona was handed back to her father in a critically ill state.
Doctors at Gazipur's Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital found the child suffering from severe physical injuries and psychological trauma.
Residential Medical Officer Sheikh Farhad noted that Mohona bore burn marks on her chest, back, and limbs caused by a heated metal ladle, alongside signs of chronic malnutrition and anaemia.
"In addition to long-term physical abuse, the child is suffering from severe mental trauma. She needs regular psychotherapy," the doctor had stated, noting that the child was often kept locked in a bathroom and deprived of food.
Shafiqur, appointed Biman's MD and CEO in September 2024 after a long career with the national flag carrier, was arrested alongside his wife, Bithi, and two other domestic workers, Rupali and Sufia, during a late-night raid on 2 February.
