Staff Reporter:

Maksuda Begum, the first wife of Satkhira-4 MP GM Nazrul Islam, has provided “important information” during her remand in a case filed over allegations that she and his husband abetted the suicide of the lawmaker’s second wife, police have said.

Investigating officer Inspector Mohammad Salahuddin of the Detective Branch’s Tejgaon zonal team produced Maksuda in court today (22 September) after her one-day remand and sought an order to keep her in jail.

In the application, the investigating officer told the court, “Important information related to the case has been obtained by questioning the accused in remand, which will play a helpful role in the investigation. In the interest of a proper and impartial investigation, it is essential to keep the accused in jail custody.”

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ripon Hossain would hear the application, Sub-Inspector Rafiqul Islam of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Prosecution Division said.

On Sunday evening (20 September), police recovered the hanging body of Mariam Khatun, 19, Nazrul’s second wife, from a NAM Bhaban flat, opposite the parliament complex.

Police later took Nazrul and his first wife Maksuda into custody.

Later that night, Mariam’s father, SM Masum Billah, filed a case accusing the MP, his first wife Maksuda and the victim’s maternal uncle Obaidur Rahman of abetting suicide.

The two accused were shown arrested in the case and produced in court from Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station yesterday.

After hearing a seven-day remand plea, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Ehsanul Islam ordered four days of remand for Nazrul and one day for Maksuda.

What the case statement alleges

According to the case statement, plaintiff Masum is a grocery shopkeeper. His eldest daughter Mariam married Nazrul, 75, in June under Islamic law.

After the marriage, she lived with her husband and his first wife, Maksuda, in a NAM Bhaban flat on Manik Mia Avenue.

The case documents say Mariam’s marriage to Nazrul took place following the direct instigation of her maternal uncle, Obaidur, 38.

The case alleges that after the marriage, Nazrul and his first wife subjected Mariam to physical and mental abuse over various issues.

She reportedly informed family members about the abuse by phone on several occasions.

At around 3:30pm on Sunday, Nazrul called the plaintiff and asked him to go to the flat immediately, according to the case documents.

When he arrived, he found Mariam hanging from a ceiling fan with a scarf around her neck. The room was locked from the inside.

With assistance from the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police, they broke open the door and recovered the body.

Police searched the scene and recovered a handwritten note from Mariam’s bed. Fazlul Karim, additional deputy commissioner of the DMP’s Tejgaon Division, said, “Some handwritten notes were recovered from the room where Mariam used to stay.”

Quoting the note, the case says Mariam wrote, “Just because I fell for you, I kept bowing before you again and again…”

In another part of the note, she allegedly wrote, “I entered the battle with complete trust, but I could not defeat you. I lost on the battlefield.”

In another section, the young woman wrote, “At the end of the battle, I realised that you were the commander of the opposing side. I lost and you won because you were able to deceive me and win precisely because I trusted you.”

Masum alleged that his daughter’s marriage to Nazrul had taken place following the direct instigation of Obaidur. He said Mariam had died by suicide because of physical and mental abuse by her husband and his first wife, as well as the accused persons’ instigation.

Nazrul’s expulsion from Jamaat

Notably, in July, several videos allegedly showing private moments between Mariam and Nazrul went viral on social media, sparking discussion and criticism surrounding the MP.

On 22 July, the Jamaat-e-Islami expelled Nazrul from the party.

The party said an organisational investigation had found evidence of moral misconduct and that he had been expelled under Article 62 of its constitution.

The party added that it had informed the Election Commission about the matter.