Husband arrested after blood-stained body of JU female student recovered

Police have arrested the husband of a female student whose bloodied body was recovered from a rented house near Jahangirnagar University. He was sent to court on Monday morning with a plea for a five-day remand.

The university administration and several student organisations have expressed concern over the killing and demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible.

The deceased, Sharmin Jahan (Khadija), was the daughter of Shahjahan Molla from Tetoy village in Kachua upazila of Chandpur. Her husband, Fahim Al Hasan, is the son of a certain Md Hanif Sarkar from Khairul village in Muradnagar upazila of Cumilla.

Md Asgar Hossain, investigation officer of Ashulia police station, told Prothom Alo that Fahim Al Hasan had initially been detained for questioning immediately after the incident. Later, late Sunday night, he was formally shown arrested in a case filed by Sharmin’s uncle, Monirul Islam. He was sent to court Monday morning with a request for a five-day remand.

According to the case statement, Sharmin Jahan was a fourth-year student of the public administration department at Jahangirnagar University, while her husband Fahim Al Hasan is a fourth-year Economics student at Dhaka College. After being in a romantic relationship, they married on 24 June last year and informed their families. In September, they began living in a rented house in the Islamnagar area near the university.

The complaint states that disputes between Sharmin and Fahim began some time after their marriage over various family issues. Sharmin had informed members of her family about the matter.

It further says that around 4:45 pm on 15 March, Fahim called Sharmin’s uncle Monirul Islam and asked him to come to the house, saying Sharmin was seriously ill. When Monirul arrived, he found Sharmin lying bloodied on a bed. With the help of locals, she was taken to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar, where the attending physician declared her dead.

The complaint notes that Sharmin had deep, bloodied cut injuries on the right side of her forehead and the top of her head.

JU vice-chancellor Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan expressed deep sorrow and concern over the recovery of Sharmin Jahan’s body.

Describing the incident as a brutal killing, the university administration and several student organisations, including the Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ union (JUCSU), demanded a prompt and fair investigation and exemplary punishment for the perpetrators.

In a statement issued around 11:45 pm on Sunday and signed by acting director of the university’s public relations office Mohammad Mohiuddin, the VC said the murder of Sharmin Jahan was extremely tragic and painful, and that the university community was deeply shocked. He called for a swift investigation and exemplary punishment for the offender.

Leaders and activists of the JUCSU, a faction of Bangladesh Chhatra Union (Bangladesh Students’ Union), and the university unit of Jatiya Chhatra Shakti also demanded a proper investigation of the incident and justice.

In a statement signed by JUCSU vice-president Abdur Rashid and general secretary Mazharul Islam, it was said that the deep injury marks on Sharmin’s head, her bloodied body lying on the floor, and the disappearance of a laptop and phone from the house initially suggest a planned murder.

The abnormal and brutal death of such a talented student cannot be accepted in any way, the statement added.