The High Court on Sunday upheld the death sentence handed down by a trial court to former police constable Abdul Alim Sumon for killing his wife in Tangail over dowry.
The court also commuted the death sentence of another convict, Shamim Al Mamun, to life imprisonment.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakraborty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja delivered the verdict while disposing of the death reference and appeals filed against the trial court’s judgment.
Senior lawyer SM Shahjahan and lawyers Md Jahangir Alam and KM Al Fahad Bin Sagir appeared for the convicts.
According to the case documents, Abdul Alim, who was serving with the Industrial Police at the time, married Sumi Akter, daughter of Sultan Ahmed of Faliarghona village in Tangail Sadar upazila, on May 6, 2011.
The agreed dowry was Tk5 lakh, but Sumi’s father paid Tk3 lakh, leaving Tk2 lakh unpaid. Alim allegedly subjected his wife to frequent physical abuse over the remaining amount and eventually sent her to her parents’ home.
On April 20, 2012, Alim took Sumi from her parents’ home on the pretext of visiting the Bangabandhu Bridge area. He later took her to the embankment area near Turag in Dhaka, where he allegedly strangled her with a scarf with the assistance of Shamim Al Mamun.
After his arrest, Alim confessed to the killing in a statement before a court.
Sumi’s mother later filed a case with Tangail Police Station against the two accused. Alim was subsequently dismissed from the police force.
Following the trial, the Tangail Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, then presided over by Judge Khaleda Yasmin, sentenced both accused to death on August 5, 2019.
The death reference was later sent to the High Court, while the convicts filed criminal and jail appeals challenging the verdict.
