Dubai: The manager of an Asian club was arrested on charges of keeping dancers locked up in a flat after a Pakistani girl, Aaina Malek, died in a fire in her apartment on Monday night.
"Investigation revealed that the girls were locked up in the flat by the management of the club," a senior police official told Gulf News.
He said three people, including the manager of the club, Daleep, and two girls, were taken into custody on Wednesday night.
Preliminary reports
"They will be referred to the Public Prosecution on charges of suppressing the freedom of people," he said.
Preliminary reports from a fire expert show that the fire spread from an oil lamp, which was used by the two girls - who are in custody - in their prayer rituals. The oil lamp was kept in a cupboard.
Both the girls went off to work in a club on the night of incident.
Medical reports also suggested that Aaina died of suffocation, as she was trapped in the burning flat. She was not burnt.
Her friend and roommate, Lucky, whose real name is Tahira Hajjab, was rescued by neighbours, who broke the door open.
Aaina and Lucky had come back from Kish after a visit there for visa change the same evening.
They worked at Deedar nightclub at Seashell Inn Hotel. A restaurant employee said the other girls left for the hotel and both of them stayed back. They wanted to rest as they were in Kish for several days waiting for their visa.
Lucky told her close friend that she had been telling the Nepalese girls not to light the oil lamp in the cupboard at it could be dangerous but they did not listen saying that "it was their religious obligation".
High flames
She said that she noticed the fire when flames were really high and they could not do anything except shout and cry.
Gulf News has learnt that the girls are locked up by club officials after they finish their work at 3am. "They are locked for 'security' reason," said the management of the club.
The club dancers usually hail from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, and work from 9pm to 3am at Asian nightclubs and are kept locked up in their flats for the rest of the day.
Some girls confirmed that there had been numerous cases when they could not go out during emergencies especially when they needed medical attention.
According to a friend, while waiting for her visa in Kish, Aaina had sent a text message to the mobile phone of her friend, who was "a bit angry" with her and was not picking up her phone calls.
The message, said Aaina's friend, left his friend in tears when he heard the news of her death.
She had written: "When will you pick up my phone ... after I die?" She died before he could talk to her again.
Deedar night club, where Aaina performed, opened on Wednesday night but Aaina's friends who performed in the club were sad.
A couple of them even wept during their performances. The club also played a song remembering Aaina. But again, it was business as usual for them.
Mother suspects foul play
Aaina's mother Shahida Malek told Gulf News from Karachi that she suspected foul play in her daughter's death.
"She was a little sweet girl and I still don't belief that she is dead," she said and blamed the management of club for sheer negligence. "I was earlier told that she was burnt in the flat with other girls but later I came to know that she was the only one who died. I want to pursue the case to find out the truth," she said.
Shahida lost her teenage son in a road accident last year.
Irfan Malek, one of Aaina's three brothers, who came to Dubai from Karachi yesterday to collect his sister's body, told Gulf News his priority is take her sister's body back home for burial. "I am getting in touch with people who brought my sister because they have to compensate for her death," he added.
Your comments
It has been a custom from the beginning, to lock these girls up during the day. These girls are allowed to befriend men while on the dance floor, even exchanging phone numbers with the most 'generous' ones. But these contacts are not allowed to go beyond the phone calls. All of them have confessed to their clients that they are kept locked-up in their flats. If that is a crime, then there will be a drastic change in the way these "dance bars" operate in the country.
Kishore JS
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 03, 2007, 14:22
This is really sad news and the girl who died was my very close friend. The law enforcement agencies of the UAE should be active now and make a proper rule of not keeping these types of girls locked in their residences, as they cannot go anywhere when the passport are in the custody of the sponsor.
Faisal
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: August 03, 2007, 14:16
It is very tragic that a young woman has lost her life in such a dreadful way. It is common knowledge throughout the UAE that dancing girls are kept locked up all the time they are not working and are lucky to get one day off in any three month period and even then they are accompanied by their club's security personnel.
Khalid
London,United Kingdom
Posted: August 03, 2007, 12:29
The manager needs to be punished hard.
Zeeshan
Safat,Kuwait
Posted: August 03, 2007, 12:00
Yes, the club management is very cruel to the dancers and they treat them very badly. There should be strict laws for these girls who dance for people's enjoyment but what about their enjoyment and life happiness while they are not at work?
Haresh
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 03, 2007, 09:40
