Custody battle turns violent

A mother tried to snatch her son from her ex-husband inside the premise of Rajshahi Bar Association yesterday.

The incident eventually led into a scuffle between the two groups, resulting in the woman and the ex-husband's brother being admitted to a hospital.

Heera Begum, 35, along with some “hired goons” attacked them around 2:00pm when her ex-husband Hridoy Islam, 33, and his elder brother Akteruzzaman, 36, was sitting at the office of lawyer Mozammel Haque along with his nine-year-old son, said police.

Heera snatched her son from them while around four to five persons started beating the brothers, said police quoting witnesses. In retaliation, the brothers also beat her up, they added.

Heera and Akteruzzaman were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, said Hafijur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Rajpara Police Station in the city. The others fled the scene, he added.

Hridoy divorced Heera in 2008, soon after their son was born, said Hridoy's lawyer Mozammel Haque. Later, Heera filed a case with an executive magistrate's court seeking custody of the boy, he added.

On March 1 this year, the court dismissed the case stating that she could not raise her son better than her ex-husband as she was a drug addict and was engaged in drug peddling, said the lawyer.

On April 24, Heera filed another case seeking custody of her son. Hridoy took his son to the court yesterday for attending a hearing of the case.

Both Heera and Hridoy said they would file cases over the clash, said the OC.

The boy is at the hospital now beside his mother. They are under police observation, he added.