The High Court yesterday summoned three officials of a footwear factory in Gazipur’s Kaliakair in connection with not granting a female worker leave who was in labour. Managing Director of Apex Footwear Factory Syed Nasim Manzur, Product Inspector Azizur Rahman and Supervisor Ratan Mia were summoned a day after the worker, Hamida Akhter, was forced to give birth to her baby in a toilet of the factory. But the newborn was declared dead after it was taken to a local hospital. The three officials were asked to appear in court on May 24 and explain their roles in the incident. The High Court bench of Justice Dr Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman also directed the Kaliakair upazila nirbahi officer to carry out an inquiry into the incident and submit the report on May 24. Deputy Attorney General Tapash Kumar Biswas told reporters that the court summoned the three officials after Hamida’s story was published in a Bangla daily on Sunday. The report said Hamida on Saturday afternoon had urged the supervisor for granting her a maternity leave after she had been feeling unwell but he refused to approve it. Ratan had rather asked Hamida to go back to work, according to the report.
