Family members of former Dhaka University student Elma Chowdhury Meghla have sought the attention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to ensure that the investigation of the case is not affected by influential quarters.
From a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity on Wednesday, they questioned how the lone accused, Meghla’s husband Iftikhar, had secured bail on April 19 by submitting dubious documents.
Meghla’s mother Sharmin Chowdhury said that the bail had been granted even before the investigation report was submitted to the Dhaka Sessions Judge's Court.
The accused submitted a copy of the report and post-mortem report to the court, she said, adding that the accused might flee the country as his passport had not been seized.
“The inconsistencies in the post-mortem report were also not taken into consideration by the court before granting the bail,” she said.
"A month ago, when my husband went to Dhaka Medical College Hospital to seek a copy of the autopsy report, he was told that the report had been sent to the police station a month earlier. The police station then informed us to go to the DB police.
“The DB then told us to provide the document number from the police station or the hospital. The drama continued for weeks,” she said.
“At one point, we were called to the DB office a second time where we were mentally harassed in the name of reporting an autopsy report. We were indirectly pressured to accept the incident as a suicide.”
She said that her family had lost to the power, money, and rank of the exploiters. “I want a speedy and fair trial,” she added.
Other members of Meghla’s family and her friends were also present at the press conference.