Second Wife Sentenced to Life for Husband’s Murder in Mymensingh

A court in Mymensingh has sentenced a man’s second wife to life imprisonment for the 2019 murder of her husband, Shafiqul Islam, popularly known as Shapu. The court also fined her Tk 50,000, with a further six months of rigorous imprisonment if she fails to pay the fine.

The verdict was delivered on Wednesday afternoon, 29 July, by Farhana Ferdous, judge of the Special Sessions Court in Mymensingh.

According to details presented in the case, Shafiqul Islam had married Mahmuda Akter Jhumur and lived with her at the Bashbari Colony area of Mymensingh city. The couple had a son. At a later stage, however, Shafiqul became involved in a relationship with Afroza Sheikh Iti, a resident of the Habun Bepari Mor area, and subsequently married her.

Court proceedings heard that tensions developed between Shafiqul and Iti after he continued to maintain contact with his first wife and their child. The matter reportedly became a recurring source of disputes between the couple.

According to the prosecution case, on the evening of 10 June 2019, Iti strangled Shafiqul to death in a planned attack. His body was then allegedly concealed beneath water hyacinths in Pacha Pukur, a pond in front of a house in the Habun Bepari Mor area.

For several days, the whereabouts of Shafiqul remained unknown. On 13 June, local residents reportedly noticed a hand protruding from beneath the water hyacinths in the pond and informed the police. Officers subsequently recovered the body from the site.

Following the recovery, Shafiqul’s mother, Nurunnahar, filed a murder case at Kotwali Police Station on the same day. Afroza Sheikh Iti and her brother, Din Islam, were named as accused in the case.

The investigation proceeded with the collection of evidence and examination of witnesses. During the trial, the prosecution presented its case before the court, while lawyers for the accused put forward their respective arguments. After considering the evidence and hearing the submissions from both sides, the court found Iti guilty of the murder and handed down the life sentence.

The court, however, acquitted Din Islam after finding that the allegations against him had not been proved beyond the required legal standard.

The case has now concluded with the conviction of the principal accused, bringing a seven-year legal process over Shafiqul Islam’s death to a verdict. The judgment also highlights the importance of evidence and witness testimony in establishing criminal responsibility in a murder trial.