Domestic worker abuse: Ex-Biman MD Shafiqur Rahman granted bail

A Dhaka court has granted bail to former Biman Bangladesh Airlines Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Md Shafiqur Rahman, also known as Safiqur Rahman, in a case filed over the abuse of an 11-year-old domestic worker.

Dhaka Third Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mohammad Moin Uddin Chowdhury granted bail to the accused on a Tk5,000 bond today (28 April) after a hearing, state lawyer Mohammed Jahirul Islam (Kaium) confirmed.

Defence lawyer Md Khorshed Alam sought bail for the accused. In the petition, he said the accused is a simple and non-violent person who held a respected position at one of the country's largest institutions.

He said the accused has remained in jail for 71 days since 2 February and is now physically unwell, seeking bail on humanitarian grounds.

According to case documents, the complainant, a hotel employee, became acquainted with Jahangir, a security guard at the residence of Shafiqur Rahman and his wife Bithi.

Jahangir told him that the couple were looking for a young girl to take care of their child. The complainant later met the couple, who said they would bear all expenses, including marriage costs, for the girl they would employ.

After agreeing, he placed his daughter Mohana in their household in June last year. The father last saw the 11-year-old in good health at the residence on 2 November. After that, the accused did not allow the child to meet her family.

On 31 January, Bithi called the father and said his daughter was ill, asking him to take her back. The father went to the house, and at around 7pm a woman named Sathi handed the child over to him.

At that time, the father saw serious injuries on both hands and other parts of his daughter's body. She was also unable to speak properly. When he asked Sathi about the cause, she could not give a satisfactory explanation.

He then admitted his daughter to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital in Gazipur.

During questioning, the child said that since her father's last visit on 2 November, Shafiqur Rahman, his wife Bithi and other unidentified individuals had assaulted her at different times without reason. She said they burned various parts of her body with a metal ladle heated over fire, causing severe injuries.

Following the incident, the father filed a case with Uttara West Police Station on charges of torture.

After the case was filed, Uttara West police arrested Shafiqur Rahman, his wife Bithi and two others from their residence in Sector 9 of Uttara at around 3:30am on 2 February. 

Police later showed them arrested in the case and sent them to jail. Shafiqur Rahman had remained in custody since then.