A Dhaka court on Monday granted a four-day remand for Satkhira-4 lawmaker Gazi Nazrul Islam and a one-day remand for his first wife, Maksuda Islam, after police submitted a remand application outlining five specific grounds in a case filed over the abetment of suicide of his second wife, Mst Mariam Khatun.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ehsanul Islam passed the order following a remand hearing. The investigating officer of the case, Sub-Inspector (SI) Samsuddoha Sarkar of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, had applied for a seven-day remand for both accused.
Five grounds for remand
In the application, police emphasised five key reasons for seeking custodial interrogation.
The first three grounds focused on determining whether the accused were present in the residence at the time of Mariam’s suicide, and whether she was subjected to abetment, incitement, mental pressure, or intimidation.
Fourthly, police stated that interrogating the accused was necessary to identify whether any unknown persons were involved in the incident and to arrest them.
Fifthly, police noted that custodial interrogation under remand was essential to unearth the true facts and the core mystery surrounding the death.
Courtroom proceedings
Police produced the accused, Gazi Nazrul Islam and Maksuda Islam, in the dock at 3:11pm, after which their legal counsel signed the power of attorney. The magistrate took the bench at approximately 3:15pm and directed all present to maintain order in the courtroom.
The remand hearing officially commenced at 3:16 pm.
During the hearing, the Public Prosecutor argued that although the case was lodged for abetment of suicide, investigating whether a murder plan lay behind the death was a vital matter, making custodial interrogation necessary to unearth the truth.
When the prosecutor attempted to raise Gazi Nazrul’s political identity, the magistrate intervened, instructing him strictly to refrain from discussing matters outside the case and to focus solely on the case at hand.
On the other hand, defence lawyers, including advocate Md Mahbur Rahman, submitted an application seeking bail and the cancellation of the remand prayer.
The defence submitted that there was no logical ground for custodial interrogation, noting that Gazi Nazrul is a freedom fighter and a four-time MP, and that no specific grounds were shown to justify remand.
They added that both accused are elderly, assured the court that they would cooperate fully with the investigation, and prayed for their bail after cancelling the remand request. Following the submissions, the court granted a four-day remand for Gazi Nazrul Islam and a one-day remand for Maksuda Islam.
What’s the FIR allegations?
The case was instituted at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station by Mariam’s father, S. M. Masum Billah, naming Gazi Nazrul Islam, his first wife Maksuda Islam, and driver Obaidul Islam as accused.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), Gazi Nazrul married Mariam in accordance with Islamic Sharia in June.
Nazrul resided in Flat No 203, Building No 5 of the NAM Building complex, adjacent to Manik Mia Avenue under Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, where his first wife Maksuda also lived.
The FIR alleged that since the marriage, Gazi Nazrul and Maksuda repeatedly subjected Mariam to physical and mental torture over various matters. Mariam had communicated these instances of torture to her family members via mobile phone on multiple occasions.
Discovery of the body, handwritten letter
According to the FIR, on 20 September at around 5:30pm, Gazi Nazrul telephoned Mariam’s father, asking him to come to the flat quickly. Upon receiving the call, her father went to the NAM Building flat accompanied by Mariam’s maternal aunt, Sufiya.
Finding one of the rooms locked from the inside, they looked through a window and discovered Mariam hanging from a ceiling fan with a scarf wrapped around her neck.
In the presence of police, Public Works Department (PWD) worker Saidul Islam forced open the door using a crowbar. Police subsequently recovered a handwritten letter from Mariam’s bed. The FIR claimed that the letter detailed a breach of trust, severe mental suffering, and strain in the relationship.
The plaintiff’s family further alleged that the marriage had taken place through the mediation and incitement of driver Obaidul Islam, and that Mariam took her own life being unable to endure the ongoing torture and incitement by the accused.
Social media controversy, party expulsion
The case follows public discussion in July, when several videos depicting “personal moments” of Mariam Khatun and Gazi Nazrul Islam were circulated on social media.
Following the incident, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami expelled Gazi Nazrul Islam, the former MP for the Satkhira-4 constituency, on 22 July.
The party’s organisational investigation concluded that moral turpitude had been established, leading to his expulsion under Clause 62 of the party’s constitution, with the Election Commission simultaneously informed of the decision.
