“My husband tortures me all the time. He speaks ill about me. Look what he did to me after beating me. His name is Masud. His home is in Ward 7 of Ratiya Rajapur. I am his second wife. Unable to bear the torture, I chose my own path. After seeing this record, please bring him to justice.”
These despairing words, broadcast on Facebook Live by 26-year-old Shanta Akter Jui, marked her final public plea before news of her mysterious death sent shockwaves through the community.
On Saturday, 17 October, at around 10pm, police recovered her body from a rented residence adjacent to the hospital at Sharankhola upazila headquarters in Bagerhat. Following the discovery, her alleged husband, Masud Khan, went missing and remains on the run.
Jui hailed from Pattasi village in Zianagar upazila, under Pirojpur district.
According to her elder sister, Julie Begum, Jui was married around 12 to 13 years ago through a family arrangement to Anwar Howlader, a Kuwait expatriate and a resident of Paschim Rajapur village in Sharankhola.
The couple had an 11-year-old daughter.
However, her family knew little about the details of her subsequent marriage to Masud.
Desperate plea for justice
Julie Begum said she had heard that Masud subjected her sister to severe physical abuse. Overwhelmed by the continuous torture, Jui had attempted suicide just two days before her death by taking an overdose of sleeping pills.
She was rushed to hospital for medical treatment and had returned home after recovering slightly.
Following that incident, her family had taken her 11-year-old daughter to stay with them, and the child was in their care when her mother died. Julie Begum added that the family intends to file a case with the police over her death.
Behind the quiet facade of the two-room tin-shed house behind Sharankhola Upazila Health Complex, Jui’s life had been unravelled by persistent domestic discord and abuse.
Police and local sources said that Jui and Masud Khan had rented the property from landlord Farid Faraji on 5 October at around 10:00 am for a monthly rent of 3,200 taka, presenting themselves as husband and wife.
Landlord Farid Faraji said a young girl accompanied the couple when they first arrived to look at the house. He said that frequent quarrels erupted between them shortly after they moved in, causing distress to other tenants.
Although the couple were asked to vacate the premises, they refused to leave, culminating in the tragic outcome. Family members and residents said Jui was severely distressed mentally due to the ongoing marital strife and physical assault.
Suspect’s troubled background
Further light was shed on Masud Khan’s background by Sanjay Kumar Mistry, a village police officer of Ward 7, Ratiya Rajapur under Dhansagar union in Sharankhola upazila.
He said Masud Khan is the son of Shahjahan Khan from his ward and has a history of alleged involvement in drug trading.
The village police officer said that several attempts had been made in the past to apprehend him with illicit drugs, though he had evaded capture. He added that Masud Khan also faced prior allegations of involvement in immoral activities.
Police hunt for missing husband
Rokeya Khanam, officer-in-charge of Sharankhola Police Station, said the body was recovered and sent to the district hospital morgue for an autopsy. She said the alleged husband, Masud Khan, is currently absconding, and law enforcement officers are conducting drives to locate him.
The officer-in-charge added that investigators will review the Facebook Live video recording in which Jui detailed the abuse inflicted by her husband prior to her death. She noted, however, that the family has not yet lodged a formal written complaint with the police station.
Efforts to contact the absconding Masud Khan on his mobile phone for comment were unsuccessful as the handset was found switched off.
