Rape, murder case filed against jailed suspect in Adabor woman’s death

A 24-year-old makeup artist met photographer Namim Ashraf, 37, while working on a photo shoot two years ago. The two later entered into a romantic relationship.

The woman, a resident of Mohammadpur in the capital, regularly worked at Namim’s studio in Adabor, and their families had been discussing marriage. However, on 14 June, her body was recovered from the studio.

Namim Ashraf has been in jail for the past two weeks in connection with a case alleging abetment of suicide. Meanwhile, on Monday, the woman’s elder sister filed a new case with Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-5, accusing Namim of confining, raping and then murdering her.

Namim’s father, Md Ashraf Uddin, 56, and mother, Shahnaz Begum, 50, have also been named as accused.

Judge Md Moniruzzaman recorded the complainant’s statement and directed the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police to investigate the case and submit a report to the tribunal by 10 September.

According to the complaint, Namim repeatedly delayed marriage despite promising to marry the woman, leading to several disputes between the two families.

On 10 June, he allegedly called her to his studio in Shekhertek, Adabor, where he forced her to tell her family she was staying at a friend’s house. The complaint further alleges that she was confined there from 10 to 14 June, raped multiple times and later murdered.

Although the new case was filed on Monday, Namim has been in custody since 15 June in connection with the woman’s death. After her body was recovered on 14 June, the victim’s elder brother filed a case with Adabor police station accusing Namim of abetting her suicide.

Investigating officer Sub-Inspector (SI) Sultanur Rahman of Adabor police station said Namim was shown arrested in that case and produced before a court the following day.

Describing what happened on the day the body was recovered, SI Sultanur Rahman told Prothom Alo on Tuesday night that police arrived at the studio at around 2:30 pm on 14 June and found the woman lying dead on the floor.

He said Namim and one of his female friends told police they had arrived at the studio around noon and found the door locked from the inside. With the help of local people, they broke down the door and saw the woman hanging from the ceiling with a scarf around her neck. They brought her down but found she was no longer breathing.

The investigating officer said there were no visible signs of physical abuse on the woman’s body, although there was a mark around her neck. Based on the initial observations, police believed it to be a case of suicide, he said, adding that the exact cause of death would be confirmed after the post-mortem report.

The victim’s elder sister, however, rejected the police’s assessment. Explaining why she filed the case with the tribunal, she told Prothom Alo on Tuesday night, “My sister left home on 10 June, and on 14 June we were informed that she had died.

During those four days, I spoke to her twice by phone, and she told us she was staying at a friend’s house. As soon as we received the news on 14 June, we went to the man’s studio and found her body lying on the floor. A case was filed with Adabor Police Station that night, but we did not see any meaningful action from the police. That is why I filed this case in court to seek justice for my sister’s murder.”