A woman was allegedly killed by her husband after she discovered that he had been married before, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) said.
Jannatul Ferdous, 28, was allegedly taken on a boat to the Karnaphuli River on the pretext of going out, strangled to death, and then tied up and stuffed into a sack before her body was dumped in a canal.
The PBI said it had solved the murder case nearly two and a half months after the incident. Two people have been arrested in connection with the killing, while one of them has given a confessional statement before a court.
MKH Jahangir Hossain, Superintendent of Police (PBI Chattogram Metro) disclosed the details at a press conference at the bureau’s Chattogram Metro office on Thursday.
According to the PBI, Jannatul worked at a shoe factory in the city. She divorced her first husband three years ago and married Raja Mia in September 2025 after a romantic relationship.
She lived with Raja Mia in the city’s Bahaddarhat Signal area along with her seven-year-old daughter, Tanisa.
The PBI said Raja Mia had introduced himself as unmarried when they got married. Raja Miah is a shopping bag manufacturer and supplier them to various organisations. After the marriage, Jannatul learned that he had a previous marriage, triggering disputes between the couple.
Investigators said Raja Mia subsequently planned to kill her and consulted his acquaintance Muslim Uddin.
The two initially visited a spiritual practitioner (kobiraj) near the Kalurghat Bridge to perform rituals and spiritual methods to resolve the marital discord. When those efforts failed to resolve the problem, they allegedly decided to kill Jannatul, according to the PBI.
As part of the plan, Raja Mia took Jannatul to the Bridgeghat area of the Karnaphuli River around 6pm on 28 July, saying they would go out for a trip.
Muslim Uddin, Arman and Shukkur Ahmed, the brother of Raja Mia’s first wife and owner of the sampan boat, were waiting there with the vessel, investigators said.
Jannatul was taken aboard, and the boat headed towards the Shikalbaha Canal, passing beneath the Karnaphuli Bridge.
At around 8pm, Raja Mia and Jannatul got into an argument, according to the PBI. Raja Mia then snatched her mobile phone and threw it into the canal before pressing his hand over her mouth. Arman allegedly tightened a rope around her neck, killing her.
Raja Mia and Arman subsequently tied her hands and legs with rope, stuffed her body into a sack and dumped it into the canal near the Kalarpol area under Karnaphuli Police Station before fleeing the scene, the PBI said.
PBI official MKH Jahangir Hossain said police recovered the body, packed in a sack and floating in the Shikalbaha Canal under Karnaphuli Police Station, on 2 August, four days after the killing.
Jannatul’s family members later identified the body.
Her family became suspicious of Raja Mia after his mobile phone remained switched off following the incident.
Jannatul’s mother, Saira Khatun, subsequently filed a murder case with Karnaphuli Police Station against Raja Mia and unidentified persons.
On 6 October, the case was officially transferred to the PBI from the Sadarghat River Police for investigation.
Using information technology and intelligence sources, PBI officers arrested Muslim Uddin from Teknaf. Based on information obtained during his interrogation, law enforcers arrested Shukkur Ahmed and seized the sampan allegedly used in the murder.
On Wednesday, Muslim Uddin gave a confessional statement before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, detailing his involvement in the murder.
The PBI confirmed that drives to arrest Raja Miah and Arman are ongoing.
