A tribunal has ordered the trial to begin against a brother and sister by framing charges in the case of 13-year-old domestic worker Kolpona, who was subjected to horrific torture in Dhaka’s Bashundhara residential area a year and a half ago.
On Sunday, Judge Shahadat Hossain Bhuiyan of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-9 in Dhaka passed the order, rejecting the discharge petitions of the accused. The two accused against whom the trial has commenced are the homeowner, Dinat Jahan Ador, and her brother, Nazmus Sakib. Advocates Mohima Bandhan and Mohsin Reza had argued for the accused’s discharge on behalf of the defence.
Ibrahim Kawshar, bench assistant of the concerned court, said the court has set 25 August as the date for recording testimony. Defence lawyer Mohima Bandhan stated, “The accused’s family has taken full responsibility for the victim. They have undertaken her maintenance, arranged her marriage, provided her a shop, and given her cash. Today, charges were framed in the case.”
Earlier, on 19 October 2024, police rescued Kolpona from a house in Bashundhara. Her mother, Afia Begum, filed a case with Vatara Thana the same day. The First Information Report (FIR) states that Kolpona started working at Dinat Jahan’s house in the Bashundhara residential area from 1 June 2021.
Thereafter, until 19 October 2024, she was “never given proper food”. The complaint alleges that Dinat and her brother used to beat Kolpona for any or no reason. “They used to brand her with a hair dryer. Her fingernails were pulled out with fabric cutting scissors. Beating her with a shoe brush tore the skin off her back. Hitting her mouth with a floor-mopping brush broke Kolpona’s two front teeth. As a result of the beatings, wounds on her face, hands, feet, back, and various parts of her body became infected and spread a foul odor. Perfume was used to mask the smell, yet the homeowner did not provide her medicine. Kolpona’s face became disfigured due to the continuous torture.”
Kolpona also described this gruesome torture in her testimony recorded before the then Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Begum Afnan Sumi.
After concluding the investigation, investigating officer SI Md Nesar Uddin of Vatara Thana submitted a charge sheet against the brother and sister in the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court on 28 August last year. The charge sheet also detailed the brutal torture.
However, during the investigation of the case, on 16 July last year, the two parties reached a compromise in exchange for money. This compromise deed was also submitted to the court. It stated that the case was filed due to “misunderstanding, dispute, and misapprehension” between Kolpona and Dinat Jahan.
