Staff Reporter :
Rapid Action Batallion has arrested two persons including a recruiting agency owner from Dhaka’s Fakirapool area on Thursday.
They have been arrested in connection with the death of 14-year-old girl Umme Kulsum, who was sent to Saudi Arabia as domestic help. She was tortured to death there by her employer, said Bina Rani Das, Additional Superintendent of Police of RAB -3.
The accused’s are Mokbul Hossain, owner of MH Trader International, and his accomplice Parvez.
The Police Additional Super said to The New Nation that they were arrested during a drive at their recruiting agency office. The recruiting agency last year sent Kulsum, a 14-year-girl from Brahmanbaria, to Saudia Arabia as domestic help, said Bina Rani Das.
“Even though the minimum legal age of a female migrant worker has to be 25, the agency hid her age and sent her to work abroad,” she said.
Kulsum was shown to be 25 years old with false information in her passport, as anyone below the age of 25 cannot be sent to Saudi Arabia as a domestic worker.
Kulsum was tortured by her employer there and subsequently died in a hospital on August 9 this year. Her body was brought back home on September 12.
“We will be charging the agency with human trafficking, under the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act, and for knowingly sending a minor girl to be exploited,” said ASP Das.
“We are also investigating this agency to see how many other people were trafficked by them,” she added.
As the drive went on, Manpower Recruiting Agencies Oikkya Parishad Convener Tipu Sultan staged a protest outside the agency’s Fakirapool office, claiming that they cannot be arrested as traffickers.
“We cannot be culpable for the crimes of the employers,” he claimed, “We want this law to be repealed.”
Rapid Action Batallion has arrested two persons including a recruiting agency owner from Dhaka’s Fakirapool area on Thursday.
They have been arrested in connection with the death of 14-year-old girl Umme Kulsum, who was sent to Saudi Arabia as domestic help. She was tortured to death there by her employer, said Bina Rani Das, Additional Superintendent of Police of RAB -3.
The accused’s are Mokbul Hossain, owner of MH Trader International, and his accomplice Parvez.
The Police Additional Super said to The New Nation that they were arrested during a drive at their recruiting agency office. The recruiting agency last year sent Kulsum, a 14-year-girl from Brahmanbaria, to Saudia Arabia as domestic help, said Bina Rani Das.
“Even though the minimum legal age of a female migrant worker has to be 25, the agency hid her age and sent her to work abroad,” she said.
Kulsum was shown to be 25 years old with false information in her passport, as anyone below the age of 25 cannot be sent to Saudi Arabia as a domestic worker.
Kulsum was tortured by her employer there and subsequently died in a hospital on August 9 this year. Her body was brought back home on September 12.
“We will be charging the agency with human trafficking, under the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act, and for knowingly sending a minor girl to be exploited,” said ASP Das.
“We are also investigating this agency to see how many other people were trafficked by them,” she added.
As the drive went on, Manpower Recruiting Agencies Oikkya Parishad Convener Tipu Sultan staged a protest outside the agency’s Fakirapool office, claiming that they cannot be arrested as traffickers.
“We cannot be culpable for the crimes of the employers,” he claimed, “We want this law to be repealed.”
