Staff Reporter:

A court in Sirajganj sentenced a woman to death for killing her mother-in-law and her extramarital lover to life term imprisonment.
The death-sentenced accused is Afroza Khatun, wife of the late Abdul Malek of Rasulpur village in Kamarkhand upazila. The other accused is Md. Liaquat Hossain, son of Osman Ali of Subarnasara village in Belkuchi upazila.
Judge Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman of Sirajganj’s Additional District and Sessions Judge Court-3 announced the verdict on Sunday (October 26) afternoon.
The court also fined Afroza at Tk 1 lakh, in default; she will have to suffer six more months in jail. Liaqat Hossain, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, was fined Tk 50,000, in default, he will suffer three more months in jail.
Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Advocate Hamidul Islam Dulal said that, Afroza Khatun was absconding at the time of the verdict. Liaqat, who was an extramarital lover, was sent to prison by the court.

According to the case records, Afroza Khatun was the stepdaughter-in-law of Sheikh Sultan of Jidhuri village in Belkuchi upazila. While her husband was alive, she got involved in anti-social activities due to her work in a garment factory in Dhaka. This led to a dispute within the family.
When her husband Abdul Malek died in 2006, Afroza’s behavior became more reckless. Later, when her in-laws expressed suspicions about her, she became angry and started looking for an opportunity for revenge.
On the afternoon of October 17, 2012, Afroza left the house with her mother-in-law Rabia Khatun after visiting her in-laws. Since then, there has been no trace of the two. The next day, the police recovered Rabia Khatun’s body from a pond near the house.
In this incident, the victim’s husband Sheikh Sultan filed a murder case with Belkuchi Police Station, accusing Afroza Khatun, her lover Liakat Hossain and three others. Later, the police arrested Afroza Khatun. During interrogation, she confessed to the murder and gave a confessional statement under Section 164 in the court.
After a long investigation, the police filed a charge sheet against the two on July 1, 2015.