HC summons parents for allegedly confining daughter

The High Court has ordered Md Delwar Hossain and Rowshan Ara Delwar, parents of 40-year-old Dr Farah Dina, to present her before the court amid allegations that she was being held in forced confinement.

The court ordered the parents to appear with their daughter at 11am on 20 August. 

The order was issued today (14 August) by a High Court bench comprising Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Sayed Zahid Mansur after hearing a habeas corpus petition on the matter.

The petition was filed on behalf of Farah Dina by her two childhood friends, Barrister Sharmin Laila Tonny and Dr Tohfa-e-Ayub. According to the petition, Farah Dina had recently complained to them that her parents and husband had been threatening to forcibly admit her to a mental hospital.

When contact with her was lost on 9 August and she was not found at her workplace, the petitioners sought legal remedy from the court. 

The petition also stated that in 2018, Farah Dina had previously been forcibly confined for nearly four months in a mental hospital, where the treatment and medication she received caused long-term harm to her physical and mental health.

Dr Farah Dina was working as a psychologist at Al-Baraka Hospital and, before her disappearance, had been staying at her parents' residence in Uttara. 

Barrister Asif Bin Anwar represented the petitioners during the court hearing.