Bangladesh cricketer on the run for beating maid

Police expand search for 29-year-old Shahadat Hossain over claims he and his wife beat an 11-year-old maid.

Shahadat Hossain cricketer Bangladesh
A case has been filed against Hossain who could face charges of child repression and employing a minor [Getty]

Bangladesh police have stepped up their hunt for cricketer Shahadat Hossain who went into hiding over claims he and his wife beat their 11-year-old maid, an officer said.

A police officer investigating the case said on Monday that Hossain’s mobile phone was now being tracked and officers were hopeful of arresting him soon.

“We’ve mobilised 10 mobile teams [of officers] to arrest him. We’re making raids almost every day and are now tracking mobile phones,” inspector Shafiqur Rahman told the AFP news agency.

The 29-year-old paceman was suspended from all forms of cricket on Sunday as police investigated allegations he “tortured and abused” the maid who is undergoing treatment in hospital.

Hossain and his wife Nritto Shahadat have been on the run since police raided their house on the night of September 6 after officers found the injured and crying girl on a street in Dhaka, the capital.

The young girl, Mahfuza Akter Happy, told police and local media that the couple beat her. Television footage showed the girl, looking frail and thin, being taken to hospital with swollen black eyes. 

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“She told us that the couple beat her very often. Her hand was charred with a hot cooking paddle. She had injury marks all over her body,” Rahman said. 

A team of doctors is treating the girl at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

A case has been filed against Hossain who could face charges of child repression and employing a minor.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) suspended Hossain from all forms of cricket until the case is resolved, effectively ruling him out of next month’s two home Tests against Australia.

Hossain, who played 38 Tests and 51 one-day internationals for Bangladesh, missed the recent series against India and South Africa after twisting his ankle in a Test match in May.

Source: AFP