House help ‘poisons family, loots house’

A house help allegedly looted a house in Dhaka's South Rajarbagh area after poisoning six members of the family.

The victims are Jahanara Begum (70), Rumana (57), Parul Aktar (40), Selina (50), Abir (15) and Nafiz (17).

They fell unconscious after eating food allegedly served by Lima (35) on Wednesday, said Mahbub Alam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Sabujbagh Police Station, adding that she put something in the food.

The six were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital around midnight where their stomachs had to be pumped. Later they were transferred to Mitford Hospital. They are out of danger now, the OC said.

The accused domestic worker was hired last week to take care of Suraiya Begum, the elderly mother of Parul who had undergone a surgery recently, said a relative of the family, Ismail Hasan.

Suraiya breathed her last on Monday. Relatives visited the house for the funeral, few of whom stayed back, Ismail said.

On Wednesday, two women including Lima's sister visited her at the house. Lima served dinner to the family after guests left.

After the family members fell unconscious, she looted the  house and fled, the OC said. The details of how much Lima managed to steal could not be known yet, he added. Lima is on the run.