A Dhaka metropolitan court has scheduled a pivotal remand hearing for Tuesday concerning Safiqur Rahman, the recently ousted Managing Director and CEO of Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Mr Rahman, alongside his wife, Beethi, and two other domestic staff members, faces allegations of the severe physical abuse of an 11-year-old domestic worker.
The Prosecution’s Case
On Sunday, Sub-Inspector Robel Mia of the Uttara West Police Station formally requested a seven-day remand for the accused before Metropolitan Magistrate Israt Jahan. The investigative officer informed the court that preliminary findings suggest the defendants acted in “mutual collusion” to inflict trauma upon the minor.
The victim, who provided a harrowing statement to the court on Sunday, detailed a regime of systematic torture. The police application noted that the child bore visible scars consistent with being burned by a hot spatula (khunti) and other forms of “brutal physical assault.” Investigators believe the remand period is essential to recover the instruments of torture and to determine if additional accomplices were involved.
Chronology of Events
| Date | Event |
| June 2025 | The 11-year-old victim begins work at the Rahman household. |
| 2 Nov 2025 | The victim’s father last sees his daughter in a healthy state. |
| 31 Jan 2026 | The employer informs the father the child is “ill” and must be collected. |
| 1 Feb 2026 | The victim’s father files a formal complaint at Uttara West Police Station. |
| 2 Feb 2026 | Police arrest Safiqur Rahman, his wife, and two domestic helpers. |
| 9 Feb 2026 | Police formally apply for a seven-day remand in court. |
| 11 Feb 2026 | Scheduled date for the remand hearing. |
Deception and Discovery
The victim’s father, a hotel employee, stated that he was initially persuaded to send his daughter to the Rahman residence by a security guard. The high-ranking executive and his wife reportedly promised to treat the child as their own, even pledging to bear her future wedding expenses.
However, following a visit in November, the family was repeatedly denied access to the child under various pretexts. When the child was finally handed back to her father in late January, she was found in a critical condition with extensive injuries across her body. She was subsequently admitted to the Shahid Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital in Gazipur, where the scale of her injuries became apparent.
Following the public outcry and the filing of the case under the Children’s Act, the government removed Safiqur Rahman from his leadership position at the national flag carrier. The case has reignited a national debate regarding the lack of legal protection and oversight for domestic workers in high-profile households.