Shahadat, wife plead ‘not guilty’ of child torture
Former Bangladesh cricketer Shahadat Hossain and his wife Jesmin Jahan Nrittya today pleaded not guilty and demanded justice in a case filed for allegedly torturing their 11-year-old domestic help.
The couple made the prayer at the court of Judge Tanjina Ismail of the Fifth Tribunal for Prevention of Women and Children Repression.
After completion of the cross-examination of the Investigation Officer (IO) Shafiqur Rahman, the court asked them to defend themselves.
Dhaka police had filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act against the couple on September 7, 2015.
Mahfuza Akhtar Happy fled Shahadat's Mirpur residence on September 6 and Pallabi police rescued her with numerous marks on her body from Kalshi area later that night.
After being handed over to Mirpur police she was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment. She had told Dadan Fakir, officer-in-charge of Pallabi Police Station, that she was tortured by the couple.
On October 5 Shahadat was arrested, two days after her wife Nrittya was arrested from her relatives' house in Dhaka. Shahadat was eventually granted bail later that year on December 8. Shahadat was also temporarily suspended by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in September 2015, which was lifted in May this year but for domestic cricket only. He participated in the Dhaka Premier League, but will not be considered for national selection until his legal issues are resolved.
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