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29 March 2024

Bangladesh cricketer Hossain jailed on charges of torturing 11-year-old maid

A file picture taken on May 6, 2015 shows Bangladesh cricketer Shahadat Hossain reacting after taking a catch to dismiss Pakistan batsman Sami Aslam during the first day of the second cricket Test match between Bangladesh and Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. (AFP)

Published
By AFP

Fugitive Bangladesh cricketer Shahadat Hossain was remanded in jail on Monday shortly after he surrendered to a court over allegations of beating his 11-year-old maid, his lawyer said.

Hossain, who has played 38 Tests for Bangladesh, went into hiding more than three weeks ago after police sought his arrest for allegedly abusing the girl he employed illegally in his home.

The 29-year-old cricketer, who has also played 51 one-day internationals for Bangladesh, was suspended from all forms of the game on September 13 over the allegations.

"Shahadat surrendered to the court today. We will now take action in accordance to the directives of the court," Inspector Shafiqur Rahman, who was investigating the case against the paceman and his wife, told AFP.

The court in Dhaka later remanded the cricketer in jail after denying his request for bail, his lawyer Arif Rahman told AFP.

He surrendered to the court one day after his wife, Nritto Shahadat, was arrested on Sunday at her parents' home in Dhaka. Shahadat, who denied wrongdoing, was also taken into custody after a court denied her bail.

Both face charges of assaulting a child and employing a minor.

Police raided the couple's house last month after the maid, Mahfuza Akter Happy, was found crying in a street in the capital.

She has told police and local media that the couple beat and tortured her, while television footage showed her looking frail and thin with swollen black eyes.

Police have said one of her hands had been burnt with a hot cooking paddle, while other injury marks were also found on her body.

Wife arrested

Bangladesh police arrested international cricketer Shahadat Hossain's wife on Sunday over allegations of beating and torturing their 11-year-old maid, an officer said.

The 29-year-old paceman was suspended last month when police raided his house after officers found the injured and crying maid on a street in the capital Dhaka. He and his wife Nritto Shahadat had been on the run since.

"Nritto Shahadat was arrested from her parents' house," inspector Shafiqur Rahman told AFP.

"We conducted a raid at the house as we had information that the couple was hiding there. But we only found her," he said, adding police were still hunting for Hossain.

The maid, Mahfuza Akter Happy, told police and local media in September that the couple beat her, while television footage showed her looking frail and thin with swollen black eyes.

Police had found her hand charred with a hot cooking paddle and injury marks all over her body.

A case has been filed against Shahadat and his wife, who could face charges of child repression and employing a minor.

Shahadat played 38 Tests and 51 one-day internationals for Bangladesh.