Child tortured by stepmother dies at DMCH

Marium Akter. Photo: Collected

A two-and-a-half-year-old girl died Sunday at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital after fighting for her life for a month following alleged abuse by her stepmother in Gazipur.

Marium Akter, daughter of Mostafa Kamal who works in Dubai, was undergoing treatment at DMCH for the last month. She died around 6:30pm on Sunday, said Mohammad Ali Jinnah, a sub-inspector of Sreepur Police Station.

On August 14, Mostafa Kamal's father Afaz Uddin filed a case against his daughter-in-law, Alifa Akter Ripa, 30, with Sreepur Police Station, saying she had abused the child to create pressure on her husband to transfer ownership of a multi-storey building Mostafa had constructed in Sreepur to her.

Mostafa, who has been living in Dubai for the last 13 years, had married Marium's mother Sabina Yasmin eight years back, said family members.

In Dubai, Mostafa met Ripa, got married to her and divorced his first wife when Marium was only four months old, the family said.

When he went back to Dubai, Mostafa left Marium in Ripa's care in Sreepur.

The Sreepur Police Station SI said Marium was tortured and underwent surgery due to infections caused by injuries. Ripa is now in police custody, he said.