A Kushtia court has sentenced a suspended assistant sub-inspector (ASI) to death for fatally shooting his wife, her child and a youth over extramarital affairs.
Kushtia District and Sessions Court Judge Ruhul Amin on Sunday also slapped Soumen Roy with a fine of Tk1 lakh.
Soumen, who is on the run, had been tried in absentia.
Soumen residence is in Asba village, Kuchiamora union, Magura sadar upazila.
He was promoted from constable to ASI in 2015. In 2016, he joined Kumarkhali police station in Kushtia. From there, he worked at various places including Halsa Camp of Mirpur Police Station and Bagerhat Police Station. Soumen was last posted at Fultola police station in Khulna.
According to the case details and court sources, Soumen Roy killed wife Asma Khatun, 25, her son Robin, 5, and Asma's lover Shakil, 28, with a government-issued firearm in front of Naaz Mansion Market in the Customs intersection area of Kushtia on June 13, 2021.
Police arrested him on the spot, along with his service gun and ammunition.
Soumen was suspended by the force following this incident. Hasina Begum, the mother of the deceased Asma, filed a murder case against him later that day.
Soumen confessed to the murder in Kushtia Senior Judicial Magistrate Court on June 14.
Soumen said in his confession Asma started an extramarital relationship with a young man named Shakil after he was transferred to Fultola police station in Khulna. Soumen added that he could not accept this relationship, and out of that anger, he shot dead Asma, Asma's son Robin and Shakil.
He secured bail from the High Court on November 6, 2022. After that, he did not surrender even though the date was repeatedly fixed in the Kushtia court. The court issued an arrest warrant for him on February 2, 2023.
Over a year has passed since then, but Soumen is still absconding.
Asma met Soumen while he was on duty at Kumarkhali police station in Kushtia. At one point, a relationship developed between them. Soumen hid his identity and married Asma in Muslim tradition with the name Md Sumon Hossain. Soumen was Asma's third husband.
They had been living in a rented house in Aruapara in Kushtia since their marriage.
