'Babul made several plans to kill Mahmuda'

Former superintendent of police (SP) Babul Akter had planned several times to kill his wife Mahmuda Khanam and tasked his informant Kamrul Shikder alias Musa with carrying out the job.

Mosharraf Hossain, Mahmuda's father and a former police officer, made the allegations while testifying in court on Tuesday.

The judge of Chattogram Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court-3, Jashim Uddin, recorded his testimony while the defence lawyer partially cross-examined him later.

The court has fixed 8 May as the next date for further cross-examination in the case.

Abdur Rashid, public prosecutor of the court, told Prothom Alo that the court had finished recording Mosharraf Hossain's testimony, and he is now being cross-examined by the defence lawyers.

According to court sources, Mosharraf said Babul escalated his torture on Mahmuda when she discovered his illicit affair with another woman. Babul had planned to kill Mahmuda and had used his informant Musa.

Babul had given Musa Tk 70,000 to purchase weapons and asked him to kill Mahmuda, claimed her father.

Golam Mawla, Babul Akter's lawyer, said Mosharraf had fabricated many stories to implicate Babul in the case. His allegations are being refuted through cross-examination.

Babul Akter, who was present in the dock on Tuesday, complained to the court verbally that some plain-clothes officials of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) come to the court on the fixed dates to collect various information regarding the case.

In response, the court asserted that anyone, except case witnesses, is allowed in the court, and some officials come to the court for official purposes.

Babul was taken to the court with tight security in the afternoon.

The court had framed charges against Babul Akter and six others in the Mitu murder case on 13 March.

Mitu was hacked and shot dead in broad daylight near her house in Chattogram on 5 June 2016.

Babul filed a case over the incident saying his wife might become a target for his anti-militant activities.

But the course of the case took a twist within two weeks. Mitu’s parents repeatedly accused Babul of the murder. Babul was sacked from the police but the investigation was stalled.