Published : 01 Aug 2026, 06:01 AM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:29 AM
Eighteen days after filing a case seeking justice for the murder of his daughter, domestic aide Rikta Moni, Shahin Mia has moved to settle, allowing a court to grant bail to the defendants in the case.
Sabibur Rahman, additional chief engineer for the Water Development Board (WDB), and his wife Farah Nusrat Borni were granted bail on Jul 7 as the plaintiff did not object.
On the morning of Jun 19, the body of 12-year-old domestic aide Rikta was found outside an 11th-storey building on Dhanmondi Road 9/A in Dhaka. The next day, day labourer Shahin filed a case with Dhanmondi Police Station, accusing Sabibur and his wife of murder.
Police remanded the couple for questioning on Jun 20 after showing them arrested in the case. They were sent to jail on Jun 23, after the remand period ended.
Two weeks later, Sabibur and his wife were granted bail by Dhaka Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Elina Akhter.
In the bail order, the judge said that the suspects had been charged with premeditated murder.
“The plaintiff appeared in court and said that he had mistakenly filed a murder case. He said his daughter had died by suicide and he had mistakenly included the suspects in the case. He said he had no objection to their bail. The plaintiff filed an affidavit and sought their bail.”
Asked about the situation, the defendant’s lawyer Masud Khan Khokon said, “They received bail on Jul 7. The plaintiff was present at the bail hearing.
“He appeared there before we went to court. He said that he had no objection to the suspects’ bail. Later, the court granted them bail. They were released on the same day.”
Asked whether the case had been “settled”, the lawyer said: “It could be. I don’t know. Are such cases ever settled without money being involved?”
Attempts were made to contact Rikta's father Shahin on his mobile phone for several days for comment on the matter. However, he did not pick up the phone.
Eventually, on Thursday night, he picked up the call and told bdnews24.com: "They are not giving me money. I did not ask for money. I want justice."
Dhanmondi Model Police Station Sub-Inspector Shahnewaz was called several times for comment on the case, but did not respond.
When contacted, Dhanmondi Model Police Station chief (OC) Muhammad Saiful Islam said: "It is not yet clear whether the girl was murdered or not. The investigation in the case is ongoing. We will submit a report to the court next month after the investigation is complete."
In response to a question, Saiful said: "A settlement is a matter between the plaintiff and the defendant. We will continue to do our job. Their settlement will not have any impact on our investigation."
Attempts were made to contact Sabibur on his mobile phone for comment on the suspected settlement, but his phone was switched off. No call went through on his wife’s number either.
Shahin alleged in the case that due to financial difficulties, he had agreed to let his daughter to work as a domestic aide at the behest of acquaintance Gazibur Rahman. He sent his daughter to work for a monthly salary of Tk 4,000.
The case states that when Rikta's mother Majeda called Borni, she told her that Rikta was fine. A few days later, when Majeda called her on the phone, Rikta was crying. Majeda saw her eyes and face were swollen. When she asked about physical abuse, Borni took Rikta's mobile phone away. Majeda then told her husband about the matter.
Shahin grew worried. He then asked Gazibur, who arranged the job, to return his daughter. Gazibur told them Rikta got the job through his acquaintance Ayub Ali, who had received Tk 10,000 from her employers. He told Shahin that Tk 10,000 would have to be repaid to get Rikta back.
According to the case details, when Shahin called, Borni told him that he had to pay Tk 10,000 over bKash to get Rikta back. When Rikta's mother called on Jun 18, Borni said that she had bought clothes worth Tk 10,000 for Rikta. She told Majeda that she would have to arrange another worker to take her place in order to get her back. Borni said that if Majeda called the next morning, she would allow her to speak to Rikta.
Then, around 7am on June 19, Gazibur called Shahin Mia and told her that Rikta had been admitted to Bangladesh Medical College Hospital in Uttara due to diarrhoea. Majeda and Gazibur quickly rushed to the hospital and called Borni, who then asked them to wait for some time. Her phone was then switched off.
Two hours later, Ayub called Gazibur and told him that Rikta was admitted to Bangladesh Medical College Hospital in Dhanmondi. Majeda and Gazibur went to the hospital and find that Rikta was dead. Her body was in an ambulance. Majeda entered the ambulance and looked over the body. She found that the girl's left arm was broken and the bone was protruding out, which looked quite similar to a blow.
Shahin then came to Dhanmondi and heard that Rikta fell from the balcony of the 11th floor of the house around 6am that day. He then said he believed the suspects abused Rikta and threw her to her death.
Rikta’s family hailed from Sunamganj. She was the second child among four sisters and a brother.
