Court Correspondent:

The father of Mariam Khatun, whose death led to an abetment-of-suicide case against Satkhira-4 MP Gazi Nazrul Islam and his first wife Maksuda Islam, has submitted a settlement deed to a Dhaka court, saying he has no objection to their being granted bail.

The development came as the court on Wednesday granted bail to Maksuda but rejected Nazrul’s bail petition. The settlement deed was submitted by Mariam’s father, SM Masum Billah, before Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Sefatullah.

In the deed, Masum said he had initially filed the case against Nazrul, Maksuda and Mariam’s maternal uncle Obaidur Rahman based on suspicion following his daughter’s death.

He said he had no objection to Nazrul and Maksuda being granted bail and that both sides would maintain cordial relations after their release. The deed also states that the parties would remain neutral regarding the ongoing trial and cooperate as necessary with the judicial proceedings.

Father says case was filed initially on suspicion

According to the settlement deed, Mariam’s father filed the case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station after her death because she had died at her husband’s residence, prompting him to suspect that she might have been driven to suicide.

The deed further states that, after making inquiries through various sources, Mariam’s family came to believe that neither Nazrul nor his first wife had done anything that prompted Mariam to take her own life out of anger or resentment.

The two families already had a relationship, and the settlement was subsequently executed before a notary public with the consent of both sides, according to the document.

However, the settlement does not by itself determine the criminal liability of any accused, which remains a matter for the ongoing judicial process.

Mariam’s death and the case

Police recovered the hanging body of 19-year-old Mariam from a flat on the third floor of Building 5 of the NAM Bhaban in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on September 20. Her father subsequently filed the case against Nazrul, Maksuda and Obaidur under the law relating to abetment of suicide.

Nazrul and Maksuda were initially placed on four days’ and one day’s remand respectively. Maksuda was later sent to jail after completing her remand, while Obaidur was also sent to jail in connection with the case.

Nazrul was subsequently placed on another four-day remand on September 24. After completing the second round of remand, he was sent to jail on September 28, and his bail petition was rejected.

Allegations in the case

The first information report alleged that Mariam had married Nazrul in June under Islamic law and had subsequently lived with Nazrul and his first wife at the NAM Bhaban flat.

The complaint further alleged that Mariam had told family members over the phone that she had faced physical and mental abuse over various issues following the marriage. These are allegations contained in the case documents and have not been established through trial.

According to the complaint, Nazrul called Mariam’s father on the afternoon of September 20 and asked him to come to the residence. Upon arriving, he allegedly found Mariam hanging from a ceiling fan with a scarf. Police later recovered the body after breaking open the door. The complaint also referred to the recovery of a suicide note.

The allegations remain subject to investigation and judicial determination.

Earlier controversy over videos

The case followed an earlier controversy involving Nazrul after several videos purportedly showing intimate moments between him and Mariam circulated on social media in July.

On July 22, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami expelled Nazrul following an internal investigation, saying it had found evidence of “moral misconduct” and had taken the decision under Article 62 of its constitution. The party also informed the Election Commission of the decision.

Following the circulation of the videos, Obaidur Rahman, who was described as Mariam’s maternal uncle and the lawmaker’s driver, filed another case with Pallabi Police Station on July 21, alleging assault and an attempt to strangle him over his protest against the alleged relationship and suspicion that he had leaked the videos. Nazrul later obtained eight weeks’ bail from the High Court in that case.

The subsequent death of Mariam and the abetment case have brought Nazrul back into the focus of a criminal investigation.

For now, Maksuda has secured bail following the settlement submitted by Mariam’s father, while Nazrul remains in jail as the investigation and judicial proceedings continue.