Little Lamia's tale of horror
Detectives are searching for the man suspected of torturing an 11-year-old domestic help in Barishal.
Officers conducted a raid in Airport area of the city yesterday afternoon, but couldn't find Ashraful Islam Chowdhury.
Police would seek remand today for his wife Sharmin Akhter, also accused in the case filed under child repression and trafficking act, said Moazzem Hossain, deputy commissioner of detective branch of Barishal Metropolitan Police.
Meanwhile, struggling to speak due to injuries to her face, Lamia Akhtar told The Daily Star yesterday that she was frequently tortured by the couple during the six months she had been employed at their house.
She is being treated at the child surgery unit at Sher-E-Bangla Medical College Hospital.
She was beaten so much by Ashraful and Sharmin on Monday night that she lost consciousness, police said.
On information, a team of detectives raided Ashraful's rented flat and rescued the victim, who was found in a critical condition, officers said.
They arrested Sharmin from the flat and filed a case with Airport Police Station.
“Her face was bruised so much that she could not be identified at first,” Moazzem Hossain said.
There are marks of torture all over her body, he added.
A male and a female police constable have been taking care of her at the hospital.
Lamia, a motherless child, said she always dreamt of escaping.
Her father Iqbal Sardar of Barishal's Gaurnadi upazila is a labourer in Dhaka. Lamia used to live with her grandmother before she was employed by Ashraful.
“They used to lock me inside a room when they left the flat. I did all the work at home and took care of their little baby.”
Ashraful and his wife used to shave her head so that her hair would not fall on food, she said.
Ashim Kumar Saha, head of child surgery, said, “The child is out of danger and she needs more time to recover physically but the mental shock may take years to recover from.”
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