After the death of university lecturer Firoza Ashravee due to poisoning following an incident at Vatara Police Station, the police are analysing various data and information.
The investigation has revealed evidence that Firoza bought poison online through using her mobile phone, with two workers from the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) making the delivery of said poison to Firoza while she was in police custody.
In this regard, the police have filed charges against two BLAST employees, Shova and Kana, for incitement to suicide. The two were arrested on Friday and sent to jail through court proceedings.
According to the police, Firoza chose the path of suicide as part of a premeditated plan. The main reason for her actions appears to be family conflict and complications in her marital relationship.
The police report states that Firoza was a senior lecturer at Independent University, Bangladesh, and her husband, Md Ilias Kamal Risat, was an assistant professor at the same university.
They got married in March last. However, Rishat’s previous wife lives in Canada, and Firoza had also been married before. As a result, neither of their families accepted their relationship.
Moreover, there had been ongoing conflict between them due to Rishat’s “multiple relationships.”
It is reported that when Firoza was detained and brought to the police station, she contacted the chief programme specialist at BLAST, requesting legal assistance and asking for an inhaler.
Following this, a BLAST field officer, Shova, and her colleague Kana brought a bag from Firoza’s home and handed it over to her at around 6:45pm.
Upon receiving the bag, pretending that she was taking her medicine, Firoza consumed the poison that was inside the bag.
Upon smelling the poison, two female constables at the police station, Nasima, who was seven months pregnant, and Sharmin, tried to prevent Firoza from taking the poison and threw the bottle away.
However, by then, Firoza had already consumed some of the poison. She was quickly taken to Kurmitola General Hospital, where her stomach was pumped.
Later, for advanced treatment, she was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Despite medical efforts, she died on the evening of July 11 while undergoing treatment.
Rishat’s sister, Farista Kamal Adhora, had filed a case against Firoza with Pallabi Police Station.
She stated, “Firoza deliberately staged this event with the intention of killing Rishat. After being arrested, she committed suicide by poisoning herself.”
The case details mention that on the night of July 9, at around 11pm, Firoza went to her husband Md Ilias Kamal Risat’s house in Pallabi under the pretext of showing urgent research papers.
Later, she secretly mixed sleeping pills into his tea, causing Kamal unconscious. Afterward, while Rishat was unconscious, Ashrabi assaulted his private parts.
Around 3:30am, Rishat regained consciousness and found that his genitalia had been mutilated. In that condition, Firoza took Rishat to the hospital that same night.
Regarding the overall matter, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Vatara Police Station, Rakibul Hasan, told Times of Bangladesh, “Firoza did everything according to her plan. After being arrested, she took advantage of the legal assistance provided by BLAST and brought poison from her home to consume. She did this due to family disputes and complications in her marital relationship.”
Three police members, Duty Officer of Vatara Police Station SI Jamal Hossain, and two female constables, Sharmin and Nasima (who was pregnant), have been suspended temporarily over “negligence of duty” in connection with the custodial death and closed at the Rajarbagh Police Lines.”
“However, no official statement has been received from BLAST regarding this incident so far. A BLAST official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “Since a case has been filed regarding this matter, it is being dealt with through legal proceedings.”