For Liakat Ali, the decision has been hard and painful. His was a choice between love and need. In the end, it was his need to which his fatherly passion succumbed.
The 60-year-old yesterday filed a case against his son, a migrant worker in Dubai, for not looking after the family for the last three years.The son, Yasin Rana, has instead been sending money to his in-laws since his marriage about three years ago, according to the case filed under Parents’ Care Act-2013.
Things were different for the father and the son even a few years ago, however.
In 2004, Liakat sold much of his arable land at Suhilpur village in Chandpur for Tk 3 lakh to send his son to Dubai. He did this hoping his son would help the family. And Yasin did indeed, but until before his marriage.
In the case, Liakat also sued Yasin’s wife and her parents. The district senior judicial magistrate, however, relieved the three of the charges and summoned Yasin to appear before it on January 14.
Yasin, 30, is the second among his five siblings. His elder sister was married off several years ago. His four other siblings — two brothers and two sisters — are all school and college students.
“The family is facing acute hardship as it has no other income sources. The education of these four young boys and girls is also in peril,” said advocate Zahirul Islam, who moved the case on Liakat’s behalf.
According to him, the case Liakat filed is not all about money. It is also about a father’s pain that his son has forsaken them.
The Parents’ Care Act-2013, passed by parliament last month, makes it mandatory for working children to provide their elderly parents with food and shelter.
The law also bars children from sending their parents in old homes against their will.
Violation of this law means one to three years’ imprisonment or Tk 1 lakh in fine or both, said Zahirul, also former president of Chandpur Bar Association.
Talking to The Daily Star over the phone, he said he was moving the case for free.
-With The Daily Star input
