Almost four years after her murder, Sukhia Begum’s family on Sunday came to learn that their daughter was strangled to death by her husband, Sazzad Hossain, 28, in Bandarban’s Lama upazila.
The family of Sukhia Begum, 20, got the news of her death from police after they recently detained and interrogated Sazzad.
Earlier, Kotwali police arrested him from his workplace at a printing press at Zia Bhaban in Chittagong city’s Anderkilla area on Sunday following complaints from the Sukhia’s family, said police.
Sub-Inspector (SI) Md Kamruzzaman of Kotwali Police Station told the Dhaka Tribune, Sukhia’s family members from Pashchim Bakalia area in the port city filed complaints with his station after they grew anxious that Sukhia might be in danger as they could not communicate with Sazzad over the last few months.
Later, police nabbed Sazzad and interrogated him about Sukhia. But, he primarily denied knowing anyone called Sukhia.
However, after repeated attempts, Sazzad confessed to killing Sukhia near a hilly creek at Faitong village of Lama in Bandarban on September 27, 2009 and leaving the body at the scene.
Sazzad in his confession, said he and Sukhia worked together at a printing press in Chittagong city’s Anderkilla area back in 2008.
Following a love affair, they married each other in 2008, ignoring their objections from both families, at Shah Amanat’s Majar (Mausoleum), keeping it as a witness, and without any social and legal document.
They lived at the port city’s Shulokbohor area till June, 2009 before shifting to Bahaddarhat area in the city.
They left Chittagong city for Sazzad’s village, but, the couple got down at Chokoria in Cox’s Bazar while Sazzad and Sukhia continued to quarrel.
At one point of altercation, Sazzad took Sukhia near a creek, not far from his village home where he strangulated Sukhia to death at around 5pm.
SI Kamruzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune, Sazzad kept communication with Sukhia’s family even after four years of the murder.
He even went to her in-law’s house often and borrowed money many times naming different causes, Kamruzzaman said.
In the meantime, Sazzad stopped contacting his in-laws for the last few months and got involved in a relationship with one Poly.
SI Kamruzzaman said Lama Police had recovered Sukhia’s body from the creek on September 28, 2009 but did not find any clue.
An unnatural death case was lodged with Lama Police Station on that day and submitted a final report of the case to court on March 10, 2011, without any identification of the body or the motive of the killing.
Kotwali police produced Sazzad before the court of Second Metropolitan Magistrate, Muhammad Lutful Majid Noyonte, where he gave confessional statement on Monday.
Sukhia’s elder brother, Tajul Islam, told the Dhaka Tribune that his family was so upset on hearing the news. “We want exemplary sentence for Sazzad,” he said.
