Case filed against Bashundhara MD for instigating suicide

A case has been filed on Monday night over the death of a young woman, who was found dead in Gulshan of the capital. Sayem Sobhan Anvir, managing director of Bashundhara Group, has been accused in a case on charges of instigating suicide, police said.

Nusrat Jahan, sister of the deceased, filed the case.

Earlier, police recovered the body of a young woman hanging inside a flat in the city's Gulshan area on Monday night.

The deceased was identified as Musharrat Jahan Munia, 21, daughter of late Shafiqur Rahman, a freedom fighter of Ujir Dighirpar area of Cumilla district. Musharrat rented the flat for Tk 100,000 a month about two months ago.

Deputy commissioner (Gulshan division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Sudip Kumar Chakrabarty said on Monday night that investigations were being conducted into the specific reasons behind the girl's suicide. Police have collected CCTV camera footage and seized other digital devices on the night, he added.

According to the case statement, Musharrat Jahan, 21, was a student of Mirpur Cantonment Public School and College. She met the accused Sayem Sobhan Anvir, 42, two years ago. They used to meet at various restaurants and talk over mobile. They gradually developed a relationship.

In 2019, the accused rented a flat in the capital’s Banani area, introducing Musharrat as his wife. They started living there. The family of the accused came to know about the relationship through a woman in 2020. After that, the mother of the accused called Musharrat, threatened her and instructed her to leave Dhaka. The accused then sent Musharrat to Cumilla and assured her that he would marry her later.

The case statement further said the accused lastly enticed Musharrat again on 1 March. He used the ID cards of the plaintiff Nusrat and her husband to rent an apartment. He called Musharrat to Dhaka and rented the apartment (B-3) on Road 120 in Gulshan. A picture of them as a couple was on the wall in a room of the apartment. The room would be tidied and prepared whenever the accused came to the apartment.

Plaintiff Nusrat, in the case statement, alleged that her sister had told her that the accused would marry her and they would settle abroad permanently otherwise the parents of the accused would kill Musharrat, though would not harm the accused. The accused visited the apartment occasionally from 1 March.

The plaintiff said Musharrat called her on 23 April over phone. Musharrat said Anvir was furious with her for going for iftar to the apartment owner’s house. The wife of the flat owner uploaded pictures of the iftar on Facebook. These pictures were viewed by Piyasa, a Facebook friend of the flat owner's wife. He was concerned that this Piyasa would report to his mother about this. The mother of the accused would see the pictures. He (the accused) said he was going to Dubai and Musharrat should go to Cumilla. If the mother of the accused found out, she would kill Musharrat.

In the case statement, Nusrat said, two days later Musharrat phoned her on 25 April, crying that Anvir will not marry her. He was just using her. She said Anvir accused her of visiting his enemy and so he would not spare her. Musharrat cried out aloud that the accused had cheated her. Any serious mishap could happen. She asked her family to come to Dhaka immediately.

Nusrat and relatives left Cumilla for Dhaka around 2:00pm. She repeatedly called Musharrat on her way, but she didn’t reply to the calls. After arriving at the Gulshan apartment, they knocked on the door but there was no response from inside. Later they called flat's intercom from the security guards’ room on the ground floor. After that, they talked to the flat owner and the owner suggested they call a locksmith and open the door. Nusrat called a locksmith, opened the door and entered the flat. They found her sister hanging with a scarf from ceiling of the bedroom.

According to the case statement, police cut the scarf and recovered the body. Police also seized photos of the deceased with the accused, the diary containing details on their relationship, and her two phones as evidence.

Police sources said Musharrat died between 11:00am and 4:00pm on 26 April, directly or indirectly instigated by the accused to kill herself.

Plaintiff Nushrat sought legal action against the accused.