Death of housemaid: Banasree house helps take to street
Several hundreds of house helps working in Banasree residential area today staged demonstration protesting the mysterious death of a housemaid yesterday.
They also observed work abstention today demanding punishment to the people behind the death of Laily Begum.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Laily, 25, used to work as a part-time maid at the house of Moeen Uddin at House 14 on Road 4 in Block D, Banasree.
Read More: ‘Minor injury marks found on Banasree housemaid’s body’
Moeen took Laily to DMCH around 11:00am yesterday and said she hanged herself shutting the door of a room from inside. He added they broke through the door and rushed her to the hospital where doctors declared her dead.
Several hundreds of house helps took the street in the afternoon and were seen chanting slogans demanding capital punishment of the landlord.
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They alleged that Laily was murdered and feared that the murder case will be muffled as she represented the poor section of the society.
“We are very poor and have taken to the street fearing that Laily would not get justice as she represented poor working class,” said Shahnaz Begum, 50, who also works as a housemaid.
Shahnaz knew Laily as they used to live in the same neighbourhood in Meradia area adjacent to Banasree.
“Why should Laily have committed suicide leaving her two children? She was murdered,” she said adding, “We have no security and we want justice.”
Several others alleged that they do not get day offs and their landlords often abuse them over trifle issues.
“We are often tortured and don’t get a day off,” another house help Rashida said.
This correspondent visited a few of the households of Banasree residential area and was reported that most of housemaids today didn’t join their workplaces.
Yesterday, as the news spread that “her employer hacked her” as she went to the house to claim her due salary, her neighbours and locals ransacked the house, torched a vehicle and damaged a dozen others.
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