Finally, free after 41 years

A woman was finally freed from 41 years of captivity on Thursday from her self-proclaimed 'pir' (saint) husband's home in Bagerhat.

Bagerhat Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 18 July 2014, 08:11 AM
Updated : 18 July 2014, 10:06 AM

Police rescued five others from the house where the victims claimed they had been kept 'locked for years'.

Self-ordained saint Sheikh Nur Mohammad, 70, set up his 'Khanqah Sharif' in a madrasa-cum-orphanage at Shatgambuz Union's Mehognitala.

‘Khanqah’ is a Persian word literally meaning a ‘house’ or an ‘abode of Sufis and Darvishes’.

He was the director of the Khanqah.

Bagerhat Model Police Station OC Md Ali Azam said they rescued Mohammad's two wives - first wife Kulsum Begum, 58, and second wife Parveen Akter, 35, three daughters - Fatema Akter, 35, from his first marriage, and Salma Akter, 11, Nur Jahan, 6, from his second marriage, and three-year old son Mahabub Billah.

The place was raided on Thursday after the Khanqah Sharif director's son Baki Billah lodged a police complaint, said the OC.

However, the self-proclaimed saint escaped through the backdoor moments before police had arrived, he said.

Mohammad's wives and elder daughter issued confessional statements to the court of Bagerhat Chief Judicial Magistrate.

His first wife Kulsum Begum recounted how her husband had locked her up in a room for 41 years in the name of maintaining veils.

She said she was not allowed to see her father after his death 10 years ago.

Two years ago, her son Baki Billah got one of her daughters out of captivity. He took her to Khulna and married her off.

This irked his father who tried to kill him, claimed Begum.

Second wife Parveen Akter said she was regularly tortured after her marriage. Two years ago, she had once escaped to her father's house but her husband brought her back forcefully with help from his followers. She had kept in chains since.

Baki Billah said his conservative father had set up a madrasa and an orphanage on his land proclaiming himself to be a saint. He holds religious festivals there with his followers.

The self-ordained saint did not allow anyone to either enter or leave his house.

Billah said his father used to lock them whenever he went out.

Mohammad had married four times, his son said. Two of his wives ran away fearing torture.

Bagerhat police Sub-Inspector Sheikh Saidul Islam, who led Thursday's drive, said Billah had filed a written complaint to the police superintendent on June 26.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Sadia Afroz found the complaints to be true in a preliminary investigation.

"We raided the compound based on that complaint," he said, adding that the victims had been sent to Khulna's divisional shelter home.

Bagerhat municipality's former councillor Aleya Begum said the victims were her neighbours.

"But I could never enter the house in all my years of public service," she told bdnews24.com.

"I was unaware of such a horrible incident."