Woman held for torturing domestic help

A housewife was arrested on Monday on charge of torturing her teenage domestic help confining her to a house in Thanthania Pashchimpara area in the district town for over a decade. 

The arrestee is Selina Bewa, 50, wife of late Mozammel Haque, a resident of the area.

Police rescued Salma Khatun, 15, daughter of Abdus Salam of Payara village in Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha and handed her over to her maternal grandfather Yousuf Ali.

Quoting Yousuf, police said Salma's father abandoned her since her mother's death when she was only five.

After passing few days at her grandfather's house, Salma joined Selina's house as a domestic help nearly 10 years ago.

Since then, Salma had not been permitted to visit her village home and even barred her from meeting her grandfather.

On Monday, when Yousuf went to meet his granddaughter, Selina rebuked him and drove him out of the house forcibly.

Aggrieved, Yousuf lodged a complaint with Sadar Police Station the same day. Later, police raided the house, rescued Salma and detained Selina from her house.

Arifur Rahman Mondol, additional superintendent of police in Bogra, said Selina was produced before a court yesterday afternoon that sent him to the jail.