Police have arrested former Satkhira-4 Member of Parliament Gazi Nazrul Islam and his first wife, Maksuda Begum, in a case filed over the recovery of the hanging body of his second wife, Mosa. Marium Khatun (19), from a flat in the capital's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar NAM Village. They have been accused of torturing Marium and abetting her suicide.
On Monday, Md. Ibne Mizan, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the Tejgaon Division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, confirmed the arrest information. The other accused in the case, Marium's maternal uncle Obaidur Rahman, is a fugitive. Although police initially reported the arrest of three accused, they later corrected it to confirm two arrests.
Around 7:00 pm on Sunday, Marium's body was recovered from a flat in Building No. 5 of NAM Village. The flat belongs to Member of Parliament Gazi Nazrul Islam. Members of the police, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), and Detective Branch (DB) went to the scene and began an investigation. Later, the body was sent to the morgue of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital for autopsy.
Police stated that Marium was found with a scarf wrapped around her neck tied to a ceiling fan after breaking the door of a flat room. The case also mentions the recovery of a 'suicide note' from on top of her bed. Md. Fazlul Karim, Additional Deputy Commissioner of the Tejgaon Division of Police, said it is initially suspected that the note might have been written by Marium. However, whether the handwriting is hers will be confirmed after receiving the CID forensic report.
Allegations of torture in the case
Marium's father, S. M. Masum Billah, as the plaintiff, filed the case late Sunday night at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, bringing charges of abetment to suicide. Gazi Nazrul Islam, his first wife Maksuda Begum, and Marium's maternal uncle Obaidur Rahman have been accused in the case.
According to the case statement, Masum Billah, a resident of Gabura village in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira, works as a grocery store owner. His elder daughter Marium was married to Member of Parliament Gazi Nazrul Islam last June according to Islamic Sharia. After the marriage, Marium lived in the NAM Village flat with Gazi Nazrul and his first wife Maksuda.
The statement alleges that since the marriage, Gazi Nazrul and his first wife physically and mentally tortured Marium over various issues. The case mentions that Marium had informed her family members about the torture over mobile phones at various times. It is also alleged that Marium's maternal uncle Obaidur Rahman had direct abetment in this marriage.
According to the case details, around 5:30 pm on Sunday, Gazi Nazrul Islam called Marium's father and asked him to go to the NAM Village residence quickly. Later, Masum Billah reached there along with his sister-in-law Sufia. Upon reaching the house, they saw a crowd and later learned about Marium's hanging body.
With the help of the police, the room door was broken and Marium's body was recovered. Later, the CID crime scene unit worked at the scene and the police station personnel prepared the inquest report of the body.
Previous incident
Gazi Nazrul Islam was elected Member of Parliament from Satkhira-4 constituency in the 13th National Parliament Election on the nomination of Jamaat-e-Islami. Last July, after a video of his personal moments spread on social media, he stated that the young woman in the video was his second wife Marium Khatun.
Following that, on July 22, Jamaat-e-Islami expelled Gazi Nazrul Islam from the party. The party sent letters to the Speaker, Election Commission, and other concerned parties to take action against him.
Police stated that a decision on whether to apply for remand of the two arrested accused will be made after discussing with senior officials. The allegations in the case and the actual cause of Marium's death will be confirmed through investigation.
