The father of lawmaker Gazi Nazrul Islam’s second wife, Mariam, has accused the MP, his first wife Maksuda Islam and matchmaker Obaidur Rahman of physically and mentally torturing his daughter and abetting her suicide.
Mariam’s father Masum Billah filed the case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police naming Nazrul Islam, 75, as the prime accused, Maksuda Islam, 65, as the second accused and Obaidur Rahman, 38, as the third accused.
In the first information report (FIR), Masum said he is a grocery shop owner and has three daughters. Mariam, 19, was his eldest daughter.
He identified Nazrul as Mariam’s husband and Maksuda as his first wife, while describing Obaidur as his brother-in-law.
According to the FIR, Mariam married Nazrul in June under Islamic Shariah. Nazrul, who is a lawmaker, lived with Mariam and his first wife at Flat 203 on the third floor of Building 5 of NAM Bhaban, opposite the National Parliament complex on Manik Mia Avenue under Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station.
Masum alleged that Obaidur directly instigated the marriage. He said Mariam had repeatedly told her family over the phone that Nazrul and Maksuda subjected her to physical and mental torture after the marriage.
The FIR said Nazrul called Masum at around 5:30pm on Sunday and asked him to come to the residence immediately. Masum then went there by CNG-run auto-rickshaw with his sister-in-law Sufia.
Upon reaching the residence, Masum saw a large number of people and learned that Mariam was hanging from a ceiling fan by a scraf inside a room. He said she was shown through a window and that the room was locked from inside.
In Masum’s presence, witness Md Saidul Islam, 36, broke open the door with the help of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police, the FIR said.
Saidul is a temporary plumber employed by the Public Works Department (PWD), according to the complaint.
Masum said they found Mariam hanging from the ceiling fan with a scarf around her neck. A handwritten suicide note was also found on her bed.
The note reportedly accused someone of betraying Mariam’s trust and referred to a “battle” she had entered believing she would win.
“I kept bowing to you again and again because I fell for you. Otherwise, I am not as cheap as you think,” the note reportedly said.
It further said: “I entered the battle with him, trusting him completely, but I could not win.”
The note contained further writings, the FIR said.
Masum alleged that after questioning people at the scene, he learned that Mariam might have died by suicide sometime between 3:00pm and 5:30pm.
Later, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police visited the scene, prepared an inquest report and sent Mariam’s body to the morgue, according to the FIR.