Teen’s age raised for remand

The teenager, detained for her suspected involvement in the murder of her police officer father and mother, has been taken into custody allegedly by showing her to be more than her actual age.

bdnews24.com Senior Court Correspondent Prokash Biswas said police sought remand by showing her to be 18 years of age.

Bangladesh’s maiden children’s news service – hello.bdnews24.com – that ran the report did not divulge the girl’s name neither did it publish her photo honouring the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

A Dhaka court remanded the girl in police custody for questioning over five days.

She is accused of being involved in the killing of her parents – Special Branch Inspector Mahfuzur Rahman and his wife Swapna Begum.

The documents of the case, filed by brother Moshihur Rahman, mentions that she is 17.

The records with Oxford International School, where she studies, showed her date of birth to be Aug 17, 1996, putting her age at less than 17 years when the double murder was committed.

Unicef Child Rights Specialist Shabnaz Zahereen said: “According to the Children Rights Act-2013 passed in June, those less than 18 years of age are children. We need to look into how the girl had been put in police remand if she was not 18.”

Police did not respond when contacted for clarification.

Prokash Biswas said the law provides for trial of a child accused of a criminal offence in a juvenile court.

Blood-drenched bodies of the couple were recovered from their Chamelibagh flat, where they used to live with their two children.

The caretaker of the couple’s flat said the teenager left the house on Thursday morning, taking along her 7-year old brother and the house maid.

Investigators had found her activities suspicious after talking to her relatives and brother, and believed finding her would shed light on the mysterious double murder.

A police officer said the girl walked into the Paltan Police Station on Saturday and disclosed her identity to the duty officer.

Detective Branch spokesperson Monirul Islam told reporters on Saturday that a friend of the girl and the domestic help were held. Three others were also brought in for questioning, he added.

Islam added: “Our primary information suggests the girl was involved with the murders.”

Some ornaments missing from the Chamelibagh flat were found in her possession, he said.