Man fights for custody of missing child found in Milton Samadder's shelter

A man has approached court to regain custody of his eight-year-old daughter found at Milton Samadder’s Child and Old Age Care.

The father, Tofazzal Hossain, 40, a case against Milton Samader and his wife, Mitu Halder, on March 24.

The case is currently under trial in the Second Additional Assistant Judge and Family Court of Dhaka.

Hasan Al Jabir Talukdar Soni, the plaintiff's lawyer, said that the court ordered a DNA test to confirm Tofazzal’s paternity.

The defendants were ordered to appear in court on Tuesday.

However, since the child is currently under the care of the Shamsul Haque Foundation Child and Old Age Care, no DNA test has been conducted, and the child was not presented in court.

According to the case statement, Tofazzal Hossain married Surma Akhtar on November 16, 2012, and their daughter was born on September 23, 2015.

The child went missing on November 11, 2019, while Surma was ill.

Tofazzal published a notice in the newspaper in an attempt to find her. Tragically, Surma passed away on February 2, 2020.

Later, Tofazzal learned from an acquaintance that a child resembling his daughter was featured in a post on the Facebook page of the Child and Age Care organization.

Tofazzal visited Milton Samadder's shelter on May 4, 2023, and identified his daughter.

However, on August 18, 2023, the shelter informed Tofazzal that they would not release the child to him.

On September 4, 2023, Tofazzal issued a legal notice to the defendants, demanding the return of his daughter within three days, but she has not been returned.