Forced into Begging

Body to probe gang maiming of child

13 January 2011, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

Home affairs ministry yesterday formed a three-member committee, ten days after a High Court (HC) directive, to probe into the incident of a gang maiming a child to force him into begging in the city. The committee was scheduled to be formed within seven days of the directive, issued on January 2. Home ministry Joint Secretary Shawkat Mostafa was made convener with two members -- Deputy Secretary Alam Ara Begum and Senior Assistant Secretary Sayeed Md Belal Haider. The committee will investigate the incident, arrest the perpetrators and prepare a report for the HC within 30 days of its inception. It will also recommend the government for steps to prevent such in the future. On January 2, the HC directed the government after expressing concern over the incident and also ordered the government to implement Dhaka Metropolitan Ordinance 1986 that restricts begging in the capital.