Police have finally taken the initiative to determine the age of Oishee Rahman, who allegedly had a hand in the murder of her parents.
Questions were first raised about her age when the Detective Branch (DB) of police started questioning her in custody.
Police’s Special Branch Inspector Mahfuzur Rahman and his wife Swapna Begum were found slain in a locked bathroom in their Chamelibagh residence last Friday.
According to the post-mortem report, they died of stab wounds inflicted by ‘multiple killers’ who were believed to be amateurs.
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Mizanur Rahman along with many others criticised police for taking a ‘minor’ into custody.
Faced with criticism, DB police took Oishee to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday to ascertain her age through medical tests.
According to documents at the Oxford International School, where she is an ‘O-level’ student, Oishee is yet to be 18 years old. Records there show her date of birth to be Aug 17, 1996.
However, Paltan police Sub-Inspector Shafiullah Pradhan on Saturday claimed Oishee had said she was an 18-year-old when she gave herself up.
Assistant Prof Dr Sohel Mahmud of DMCH Forensic Department told journalists they had conducted various tests for nearly an hour.
“The results will be known soon,” he said.
Dr Mahmud had autopsied the bodies of Oishee’s parents.
The couple lived with their two children and a child domestic help. Police claimed Oishee had left the house on the evening of Aug 15 with her younger brother and the domestic help.
She sent her brother back the following day but did not come back herself.Police suspected Oishee’s involvement as she could not be traced before Aug 17.The following day, a Dhaka court remanded her in police custody for five days. Officers involved in the interrogation claimed Oishee had admitted to being involved in the killings.Various human-rights organisations had criticised the detention and the remand, saying the moves had violated the Children Act.
They have also flayed the law keepers for taking the minor domestic help into their custody. – bdnews24.com
