Councillor held for ‘forcing minor into prostitution’

A local court yesterday placed Gazipur City Corporation Councillor Roksana Ahmed Rozi on one-day remand in a case over forcing a 16-year-old girl into prostitution.

The court decision came a day after Rapid Action Battalion-1 arrested the councillor from Dhaka's Dakshin Khan area, said Rab.

The girl filed the case against five people, including Roksana and caretaker of her house Nurul Haque, with Basan Police Station under Gazipur Metropolitan Police on Tuesday.

Nurul was arrested soon after the filing of the case. He is now behind bars.

According to the case statement, Roksana runs a beauty parlour at a shopping mall in Gazipur city's Chandana intersection.

The plaintiff, who hails from Netrakona, joined the beauty parlour four months ago, but the councillor (reserved seat for wards-16, -17 and -18) forced her to work as domestic help at her house in Gazipur city's Great Wall area.

Roksana, with the help of Nurul, was forcing the girl into prostitution for the last two months, read the case statement.

The girl fled the house on Tuesday and filed the case.

Yesterday, police produced the councillor before the Gazipur court seeking seven-day remand for her in the case, but the court granted remand for a day.