A young housewife was brutally killed, allegedly by her husband and in-laws over a dowry-related dispute, in Sunagar village under Sadar upazila of the district on Monday night.
The victim was identified as Zakia Begum, 24, wife of Hasan Kha of Sunagar, and daughter of late Abdul Motaleb Sheikh of Sontulia village under Rampal upazila, reports UNB.
Sadar police yesterday morning recovered the body, which bore several injury marks.
They said Hasan killed his wife at night and hung the body from a tree to make it appear as if she committed suicide.
The law enforcers arrested Hasan’s mother and sister in connection with the killing.
Hasan has gone into hiding following the incident.
Zaheda Begum, the victim’s mother, said they married Zakia off to Hasan, the son of Mohammad Kha of Sunagar, nearly five years ago.
After the marriage, Hasan, a cosmetics vendor by profession, tortured his wife for a dowry.
Unable to bear the torture, the young girl returned to her father’s house 8-10 times.
Zaheda gave Hasan Tk 30,000 in phases, out of consideration for her daughter’s happiness.
However, Hasan found the amount inadequate and continued to torture her innocent daughter.
Two years after the marriage to Zakia, he married another girl (his second wife) who he subsequently divorced.
About one and a half months ago, Hasan put pressure on Zakia’s family to meet his dowry demand by selling land.
When his demand was not met, Hasan severely beat up his wife.
Following the incident, Zakia, along with her two-and-a-half-year-old son, returned to her father’ residence in Sontulia village.
On Sunday, Hasan went to his in-laws house. He claimed to regret his past actions and brought Zakia back to his house.
On the fateful night, Hasan, along with others in his house, killed Zakia by crushing her throat with an iron rod, having already bound her legs with a rope.
Zaheda, who was in shock after learning of Zakia’s death, demanded the immediate arrest and punishment of the killers. A case is being filed in this regard.
