Woman to die for double murder in Dhanmondi, another acquitted

Bangla Press Desk:  A Dhaka court on Tuesday sentenced domestic worker Surovi Akter Nahid to death in the case over the killing of Afroza Begum and her housemaid Diti in 2019.

However, another accused, Bachchu Mia, an employee of the household, was acquitted as the charges against him could not be proven.

Judge Towhida Akter of the Dhaka Seventh Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court passed the order.

Confirming the matter, court prosecutor Mahfuz Hasan said, “We hoped that the court would deliver the highest punishment to both accused. However, one has been acquitted. We will take a further decision after discussion.”

On the day, both the accused were produced before the court. After pronouncing the judgment, the court issued a conviction warrant and sent Surovi to jail.

The court also ordered that Bachchu Mia be released if he is not wanted in any other case. Bachchu expressed gratitude upon being acquitted while being taken back to prison from the courtroom. Meanwhile, Surovu claimed that she had been “framed” in the case.

However, the plaintiff of the case and the victim's daughter, Dilruba Sultana Ruba, expressed disappointment and broke down in tears on the court premises. She said, “The prime accused got acquitted. I won’t get my mother back. However, if she gets justice, she might rest in peace.”

On the night of 1 November 2019, the blood-stained bodies of Afroz Begum, 65, and her domestic help Diti, 18, were recovered from the fifth floor of a building in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. Both victims had their throats slit.

Dilruba filed the case on 3 November that year, stating that she and her mother lived in adjacent flats. She sent the housemaid to her mother’s flat for work between 4:30pm and 5:00pm on the day of the incident. Around 6:30pm, when her mother did not answer her phone calls, she sent her domestic help Riaz to check on her.

Riaz found the door unlocked and saw Afroz Begum lying in a pool of blood on the dining room floor. He immediately informed Dilruba. She rushed to the flat and found her mother’s body in the dining room and the body of domestic help Diti in a guest room.

On 1 February 2022, the investigation officer, Mojibur Rahman, submitted the charge sheet against the two accused and the charges were framed against them on 11 October that year. During the proceedings, the court recorded testimonies from 25 out of 32 listed witnesses.

Source: daily Sun

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