Police have arrested a 65-year-old man for allegedly raping an 11-year-old domestic worker in capital’s Uttara area.
The accused, identified as Abdul Mannan, was apprehended following a case filed by the victim’s father. The victim was admitted to the One-Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Saturday afternoon for medical examinations and treatment.
The incident reportedly occurred on Tuesday inside a grocery shop located in a slum near the House Building No 8 Railgate area of Uttara.
According to the victim’s uncle, the child hails from Trishal Upazila in Mymensingh. Her father is a rickshaw puller and her mother works as a domestic help.
The victim’s uncle further said that the child was brought to Dhaka shortly after Eid-ul-Adha by Bedena Begum, the mother-in-law of the accused. Bedena had reportedly taken the girl to her daughter’s house in Uttara.
The victim’s family was informed via telephone on Tuesday that the child had fallen ill. Mannan and his second wife initially took the girl to Kuwait Maitree Hospital for treatment but did not disclose the cause of her condition to the family. On Wednesday, Mannan’s second wife returned the child to her village.
Upon being questioned by her family, the child revealed that Mannan had taken her inside his grocery shop on Tuesday night and sexually assaulted her, resulting in heavy bleeding.
Uttara East Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Shams Mohammad Sabikul Islam confirmed that the child had been brought from her village by Mannan’s family for domestic work. He said following the filing of a rape case by the victim’s father, the police arrested Mannan.
A detailed investigation into the matter is currently underway.
