Burnt house help dies

A minor house-help, who was allegedly burnt with boiling water by her employer, died without treatment at her employer's house in Dinajpur on Thursday.

Though the girl succumbed to her injuries on Thursday, the locals came to know of the incident on Friday night.

The victim Jui, 12, daughter of Joynal Abedin of Kuralipara village under Boda upazila of Panchagarh, was buried at the village graveyard the same night without any autopsy.  

Local sources said Alamgir Alam, a representative of a pharmaceutical company, and his wife Kudrat-Un-Nahar brought the minor girl to their house several months ago. The couple allegedly tortured the girl frequently. 

About ten days ago, they poured boiling water on Jui over a trifling. The girl suffered burn injuries on different parts of her body, but the employer did not admit her to any hospital.

Alamgir and his wife told the local influential people, including a Jubo League leader, that they would pay compensation to the girl's family, and took the body to the village to bury it.

But the locals, seeing the burnt body, beat up Alamgir and Nahar. The Jubo League leader allegedly rescued the couple and helped bury the body quickly.   

Alamgir said the girl got burnt while she was carrying hot water to the bathroom from the kitchen. He said the girl was given treatment in their house. They did not admit her to a hospital to avoid police harassment, he added.

 Kohinur Begum, 40, of Kuralipara village, said she saw the body in the village, and it was severely burnt below the chest. The couple should be brought under trail for their inhuman act. Such couples escape punishment due to the victim's family's poverty, she added.

 Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Boda Police Station, told this correspondent over cellphone that police were yet to receive a complaint about the matter. The body was buried after negotiation with the victim's parents, he added.