'Suffering severe mental trauma': Doctor on 11-year-old girl after alleged torture at Biman CEO's residence
Doctors also said the child is suffering from anaemia as well as psychological complications
An 11-year-old domestic worker, who was allegedly subjected to prolonged physical abuse, is suffering from severe psychological trauma and requires regular psychotherapy, a doctor treating her said.
The girl, Mohona, is currently undergoing treatment at the surgery department of Gazipur Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital, where she lies on a bed bearing visible signs of injuries. Her helpless father and relatives remain by her side.
She was hospitalised with severe burn injuries and marks of physical abuse after allegedly being tortured for months while working at the Uttara residence of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Md Shafiqur Rahman, according to a case filed by her father.
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Residential Medical Officer Sheikh Farhad said, "In addition to long-term physical abuse, the child is suffering from severe mental trauma. She needs regular psychotherapy," the doctor said.
During a visit to the hospital on Monday, burn marks and signs of beating were found on the child's chest, back, arms, legs, and various parts of her body. Some wounds have dried and tightened, while others remain fresh.
Doctors also said the child is suffering from anaemia as well as psychological complications.
Four people, including Shafiqur Rahman and his wife Bithi, have been arrested in connection with the incident. They were arrested from their residence in Sector 9 of Uttara on Sunday night (1 February). The other two arrestees are domestic workers of the house, Rupali Khatun and Mst Sufia Begum.
All four were shown arrested in a case filed under the Children Act and were produced before the court on Monday afternoon. The Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court ordered that they be sent to jail.
According to sources, Mohona had been working as a domestic help for around eight months at a house in Sector 9 of Uttara in the capital. On 31 January, she was handed over to her father in a critically ill condition, bearing clear signs of injuries.
Mohona is the only daughter of Golam Mostafa of Haribasa Talma village under Panchagarh Sadar upazila. Her mother is Rezia Begum. The family currently lives in the Jorun Peyara Bagan area under Konabari Police Station in Gazipur metropolitan city.
The victim told authorities that she was often deprived of adequate food and kept locked inside a bathroom for most of the day. She alleged that she was beaten regularly and burned on different parts of her body with a heated ladle. She also said she was not allowed to communicate with her family members, a condition doctors said may have worsened her psychological trauma.
Mohona's father, Golam Mostafa, said that due to financial hardship, he sent his daughter to work as a domestic worker at Shafiqur Rahman's house eight months ago.
BILS demands exemplary punishment, medical treatment in Uttara domestic worker abuse case
Although the house owner's wife, Bithi, had assured him that the child would be raised like her own daughter, Mohona was instead subjected to alleged inhuman torture, he said.
He said he received a phone call on the morning of 31 January asking him to take his daughter back immediately. Later that night, when he went to the house, he was made to sign a blank paper before his injured daughter was handed over to him, and he was threatened not to disclose the incident.
Konabari Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Jalal Uddin Mahmud said the matter came to the attention of the police through a Facebook post that went viral on the night of 31 January.
On humanitarian grounds, police rescued the child and admitted her to the hospital, he said.
GMP Sadar Police Station OC Aminul Islam said the child had been subjected to alleged extreme cruelty.
On Monday, Additional Inspector General of Police Mahitul Islam visited the hospital on behalf of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner and provided Tk50,000 in financial assistance for the child's treatment, he added.
