The Human Rights Forum Bangladesh (HRPB), a human rights body, has expressed deep concern and demand fair probe into the death of a domestic worker after falling from the eight-floor of the building in the city's Mohammadpur.
Priti Urang, 15-year-old daughter of tea worker of Mittinga village in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar district Lokesh Urang, used to work as domestic help at the house of Daily Star executive editor Syed Ashfaqul Haque in the capital’s Mohammadpur and died falling from journalist’s flat on February 7.
Police arrested journalist Ashfaqul and his wife Tania Khandaker on that day.
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A court also sent them to jail after rejecting their bail petition.
The court permitted police to interrogate them at the jail gate for three days.
Prity had been working at the house of Ashfaqul for two years.
Meanwhile, the HRFB also placed some demands to ensure security of the domestic workers. These are—stopping use of children as domestic help, taking initiative from both the government and private organisations in this regard, implementing the House help safety and welfare policy 2015 and to enact a law, enlist the work of domestic workers under risk sector and taking effective steps to strengthen the registration process of domestic workers from the state-run organisations.
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Besides, Naripakkho, a women rights organization, demanded a fair probe into the death of Priti and punishment of those involved in the death.
It also urged the government to take steps so that the culprits do not get acquittal using power and effective steps to stop recurrence of such incident.
Tea workers on Sunday demanded a fair investigation into the death of Priti Urang.
During a programme, Priti's parents told the gathering that Priti went to work at the Daily Star executive editor Ashfaqul Haque's house through Moulvibazar district correspondent representative of the newspaper Mintu Deshwara.
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From the beginning, they lost touch with her. In two years, they could not meet her even once.
“On the day of Priti's death, Mintu Deshwara asked us to come to Srimangal," said Lokesh, the father. "When Srimangal came, he said Priti was seriously ill and was taken to Dhaka. After going there, we were directly taken to the police station and heard the news of the girl's death. I came home with the dead body of the girl from the police station.”
"We don't even know whether our case has been registered at the police station. We just want justice for our daughter's murder," he said.
Speakers said that instead of sending the child Priti to school, tea garden journalist Mintu Deshwara, who works for the Daily Star, sent her to work at the residence of Syed Ashfaqul Haque, executive editor of the same newspaper.