Woman held for torturing house help in Dhaka

A housewife has been arrested in Dhanmondi area of Dhaka on charge of torturing a 13-year-old house help.

Police arrested Moutushy Shabnam Swapna, 36, from her residence on Road No-5 last night, said Parvez Islam, inspector (investigation) of Dhanmondi Police Station.

Swapna used to torture the minor girl, Meruna for over a year due to her silly mistakes and delay in household chores, according to the statement of a case filed yesterday by the victim’s father Abul Hashem of Sanchapur village in Mymensingh.

Numerous injury marks are still visible in waist, back and other parts of her body and her middle finger was broken during torture, the statement read.

Today, police sent the accused to a court in Dhaka seeking a five-day remand, the police official said. “We found old injury marks in the victim’s body,” he added.

At least 22 incident of house help torture was reported in different media in six months since January, according to rights body Ain O Salish Kendra.

On July 18, a Dhaka Court awarded housewife Nawrin Jahan Nodi with life imprisonment for torturing 11-year-old domestic help and dumping her into a dustbin in Dhaka nearly four years ago, assuming that she was dead.