A Chittagong court has sentenced a woman to life in prison for strangling her 18-month-old nephew to death.
The convict is Khatija Begum, 54, the lone accused in the murder of infant Mujahid, is the daughter of Ali Hossain of Putivila area of Lohagara Upazila in Chittagong.
Chittagong Additional District and Sessions Judge Ashok Kumar Dutta handed down the verdict on Monday afternoon.
She was also fined Tk20,000 failure to pay which will lead to an additional three-month jail term.
Additional District and Sessions Judge court's bench assistant Prabir Das confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune.
The convict, who was released on bail and is now absconding, and tried in absentia.
According to the court documents, on June 22, 2013, the convict got into an argument with her father about a stolen cellphone, a conflict the infant’s mother, her sister-in-law attempted to mediate.
In a fit of anger, she pulled baby—Mujahid—from his mother Yunus Khatun’s lap and carried him to a bamboo bush close to the house where she strangled him.
Khatija’s brother and the victim's father filed a murder case with Lohagara police the next day following which police detained Khatija. She then provided a confession under Section-164.
After the charges were framed, the court recorded the testimony of 11 witnesses.
