Locals besiege Hatirjheel Police Station demanding justice over child's death

Agitated locals surrounded Hatirjheel Police Station on Wednesday (25 February) night, accusing officers of delaying the filing of a case and demanding the arrest and exemplary punishment of those responsible for the death of a child whose body was found in an under-construction building.

The demonstration followed the recovery of the body of Taheti Akter Tasnim, aged between six and eight, from a water-filled cavity intended for an elevator shaft in West Rampura.

Residents demonstrated in front of the police station for about an hour on Wednesday evening. Protesters alleged that police had delayed filing the case and called for immediate justice.

Ibne Mizan, deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Tejgaon division, said a group of locals gathered outside the police station premises after Iftar in protest over the child's death.

"We promptly sent our team after receiving information, and the body was sent for autopsy. Police did not intentionally delay filing the case. The case was filed after the child's parents came to the police station and the autopsy process was completed," he said.

He added that the exact cause of death remains unclear.

"We will know the truth once the autopsy report is available. Until then, we have to wait," he said.

According to the child's family and locals, the body of Taheti was discovered on Tuesday night in the West Rampura area. She had gone missing after leaving her home that night, prompting a search by family members and neighbours.

Police later recovered her body from a water-filled cavity meant for an elevator lift shaft on the ground floor of a nearby under-construction building and sent it to the morgue for autopsy.

Angered by the incident, residents gathered in front of Hatirjheel Police Station on Wednesday evening and demonstrated for about an hour. Protesters alleged that police delayed filing the case and demanded immediate justice.

According to the case statement filed by the victim's father, Liton, a tailor by profession, Tasnim went missing from their West Rampura residence around 9pm on Tuesday after going out to play with another child.

When she did not return, family members and neighbours searched the area and made announcements through loudspeakers. Around 11pm, her body was found lying face-down in stagnant water in the elevator shaft cavity of the under-construction building.

Following the incident, locals detained the building's security guard, Rasel Mridha, 27, from the premises.

Liton later filed a murder case with Hatirjheel Police Station against unnamed individuals, suspecting that his daughter was killed between 9pm and 11pm that night.