Employer pours scalding hot water on domestic help

10 July 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

A minor domestic help sustained burn injuries as her employer poured scalding hot water on her and locked her in a house at Khilbarirtek in city's Badda yesterday. Police acting on a tip-off from the neighbours arrested the employers Roksana Akhter Sathi, 26, and her husband Alauddin Hossain. They also rescued the victim 13-year-old Fatema and took her to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where she is currently undergoing treatment. Shahjahan Bhuiyan, sub-inspector of Badda Police Station, said Roksana got angry and poured boiling water on Fatema's chest and right hand around 11:30pm on Friday night after Fatema made a trifling mistake of not answering a phone call. The couple had confined Fatema to their house instead taking her to a hospital despite the victim groaning with severe pain, he said. On hearing the victim's cries locals thronged the spot and informed police who arrested the couple around 10:00am. During preliminary interrogation, Roksana admitted that over the past few weeks Fatema had been making frequent mistakes that enraged her resulting in the incident. Fatema told OCC Coordinator of DMCH, Dr Bilkis Begum that she (Fatema) had failed to answer a phone call by her employers who were out of the house on Friday night. She failed to do so as she was busy cooking in the kitchen, Fatema said. On returning home they rebuked her harshly. At one point of the squabble Roksana lifted a pot of boiling water from the stove and poured the water on her. Fatema, an orphan, started working at the house of Alauddin Hossain only two months ago. Earlier she had worked as domestic help at the house of Fatema's mother in Sunamganj. Police said they were preparing to file a case against the couple.