When his daughter was one year old, his wife died in a road accident. A decade has passed since then. He did not remarry, fearing it would cause his daughter distress.
However, due to financial hardships and concerns about his daughter's future, he arranged for her to work at a wealthy family in Uttara, Dhaka,
seven months ago. The family promised to cover all the expenses, including his daughter's wedding. Yet, due to the cruel abuse by the family members, the daughter is now hospitalized, her body covered in injury marks. The 11-year-old girl suffered brutal abuse for seven months.
The girl's father spoke to this reporter from Prothom Alo over the phone and shared these details on Tuesday afternoon.
In June of last year, the father had arranged for his daughter to work at the house of Shafiqul Rahman, the managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of the national airline company, Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
The girl's father said that on 31 January, when he went to bring his daughter back, he found her with severe injuries on her arms and other parts of her body. When he asked how this happened, Bithi Akter, the wife of Shafiqul (MD of Biman), could not provide a satisfactory answer.
He later admitted his daughter to Gazipur Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital.
The girl's father filed a case of child abuse against Shafiqur Rahman and his wife Bithi Akter on Sunday at Uttara West Police Station. Unidentified individuals were also made accused in the case. On the same night, at around 3:30 AM, the police arrested Shafiqur Rahman, his wife Bithi, and two others from Uttara, the capital city. They were presented in court on Monday afternoon. The court of the chief metropolitan magistrate in Dhaka ordered them to be sent to prison.
After noon today, when the girl's father spoke, he broke down in tears. He said, "My daughter's throat, back, arms, legs, almost every part of her body has injury marks. Her entire body has burn wounds. Her whole body was burned with a hot spatula. She can barely speak properly. The doctor said it may take at least two months for her to recover."
The girl's father mentioned that their home is in Panchagarh. He works at a hotel in Ashulia. In June of last year, he met Jahangir Alam, the security guard of Biman's MD's house, at a tea shop.
Jahangir had informed the girl's father that they needed a young girl to look after a child in the house.
Later, he went to the house and met the owners, Shafiqur Rahman and his wife Bithi. They assured him that they would bear all expenses, including the girl's marriage.
Agreeing to this, he arranged for his daughter to work there in June of last year. The last time he saw his daughter in a healthy state was on 2 November.
When he tried to meet her afterward, he was given various excuses and was not allowed to see her.
On 31 January in the afternoon, Bithi called to inform him that the girl was ill and needed to be taken away. The girl's father waited at the house and, at around 7 PM, Bithi came outside and handed the girl over to him.