Akhi is nine years old and Dalia is ten. Too poor to raise them, their mothers sent them in the care of a government orphanage.

Early this month, when Dalia's mother was returning after seeing her daughter, the girl could not help following her mother for some distance. Akhi accompanied Dalia.

And because of this, the two minors were subjected to torture by an official of the girls' orphanage, Barisal Shishu Paribar.

Md Dulal, a health assistant of the orphanage, beat the girls with a stick on July 4.

The incident came to light after a video of the torture, filmed by someone inside the orphanage, went viral on the social media on Tuesday.

The 18-minute clip shows Dulal beating the two kids all the while. The two, knocked to the ground, kept crying and begging for mercy.

Witnesses said their injuries were not serious, but had got some bumps on their hands after the beating.

The girls, both of whom have lost their fathers, are at the orphanage now. 

The news comes hard on the heels of the gruesome murder of 13-year-old Rajon in Sylhet.

Akhi, daughter of Taslima Begum from Barisal Sadar, and Dalia, daughter of Bilkis Begum from Babuganj upazila, are both students of class three at a local school.

Akhi's mother is a domestic help while Dalia's is an agricultural labourer.

Locals and witnesses confirmed that the girls were caught wandering off from the orphanage premises on July 4 and were then beaten up. Dulal's wife told this reporter that she tried to prevent him in vain.

“We wanted to go home. We tried to flee,” Akhi later told reporters.

Dulal has been suspended, following an emergency order from the director general of social welfare department on Tuesday.

The authority served a show-cause notice on Ismat Ara Khanam, the orphanage-in-charge, and Monoj Kumar Gharami, deputy director of Barisal Shishu Poribar, for negligence in duty and their failure to take action against Dulal.

Seeking anonymity, a number of girls at the orphanage told The Daily Star they often became victim of corporal punishments, tortures and assaults. They are even forced to do household works at staff quarters.

Corporal punishment has been declared illegal by the High Court in 2011.

Dulal went into hiding after the suspension order reached the orphanage.

Earlier on Tuesday, he told this correspondent by phone that he punished the girls under instructions from Ismat Ara Khanam.

Contacted, Ismat said the girls were subjected to “disciplinary actions”.

Interestingly, she has been included in the five-member committee probing the torture.

Asked why so, Barisal Deputy Commissioner Gazi Md Saifuzzaman said it was to collect information from her. She would not be allowed to interfere in the probe.

Saifuzzaman added the committee, headed by acting additional DC Abul Kalam Azad, would submit its report within next three working days.

Abdur Rashid, a part-time doctor at the orphanage, is also in the committee.

Zulfikar Haider, director (establishment) of social welfare directorate, visited the orphanage and said that punitive action would be taken against those responsible after the probe.

After the visit, he said the social welfare department would form another committee to investigate the incident.

Local lawmaker Jebunnesa Afroz also visited the orphanage and promised action against those responsible.

THE VIDEO

The video was shot on a mobile phone by college student Miraj and his friends from the window of a staff quarter adjacent to the building where the torture took place.

Miraj is the son of Abu Taleb, a class-four employee of the orphanage waiting for retirement. 

Miraj told this newspaper that he showed the video to Ismat Ara. But as she shrugged it off, he posted it online.

Following the incident, Barisal Sadar upazila social welfare officer Akhtaruzzaman allegedly ordered Abu Taleb to vacate the quarter.

While Akhtaruzzaman denied the allegation, Ismat dismissed Miraj's claim that she was shown the clip of the torture.