Police have arrested two people in connection with the death of 11-year-old domestic worker Rikta Akter, who fell from a multi-storey building in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s media and public relations wing confirmed that Md Sabibur Rahman, 46, and his wife Farah Nusrat, known as Borni, 40, were detained from their house around 3:30am today.

On Friday morning, Rikta fell from a building on Road 9/A in Dhanmondi. She was rushed to hospital in critical condition, but doctors declared her dead.

Police sources said her body bore multiple injury marks, and her left arm was broken.

Her father, Md Shahin Mia, has filed a case over the incident. He alleged that Rikta, who had been working as a domestic worker due to the family’s financial hardship, was subjected to physical and mental abuse.

Neighbours and building staff said Rikta had started working at the 11th-floor flat earlier this month. Plumber Sajedul Islam recalled hearing a loud crash. “We rushed outside and found the girl lying behind the building, bleeding. She was still breathing heavily,” he said.

She was first taken to a nearby diagnostic centre and then to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Building supervisor Shahin Hossain said the flat was occupied by a family of four. “After returning from hospital, we tried calling their intercom for about 20 minutes. Eventually someone picked up, and when told their domestic worker had fallen and died, they went to the hospital.”

Rikta’s father, originally from Sunamganj and now living in Tongi, said she had been sent to the household about a month ago through a broker. He claimed that a week earlier, during a video call, he noticed swelling on his daughter’s face and asked the broker to bring her back.

“My daughter was murdered,” he said. “I want a proper investigation and justice.”

Police confirmed the arrested couple were produced before a court which sent them to jail.