BCL leader sent to jail in a case filed by sister-in-law

A court in Brahmanbaria on Tuesday sent a local leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of Awami League, to jail in a case filed by his sister-in-law under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.

Judge Md Alamgir Kabir of the district’s women and children repression prevention tribunal-2 ordered to send SM Mahbub Hossain to jail rejecting a bail plea.

SM Mahbub Hossain is the president of the BCL unit of Brahmanbaria’s Bijoynagar upazila. He is from Bhitidaudpur village of the upazila.

Rehana Akter, wife of Saudi expatriate Zakir Hossain, who is the elder brother of Mahbub Hossain, filed the case against six people on 4 August 2020. Six people include Rehana Akter’s husband Zakir Hossain, her brothers-in-law Mahbub Hossain and Mostafa Hossain, and her mother-in-law Nurani Begum.

Rehana Akter said, “We had an arranged marriage, but my husband's family could not accept me. My father-in-law’s family members including my brother-in-law BCL leader Mahbub Hossain started torturing to drive me out from their home since our marriage.”

“My husband did not protest despite although he knows the matter. The torture increases after I started living in a separate house. I have named my husband in the case because he did not protest the torture after knowing everything,” she added.

According to police sources and case document, BCL leader Mahbub Hossain and his family members started torturing Rehana Akter after her husband Zakir Hossain went to Saudi Arabia. As Rehana Akter was not allowed to stay with the in-laws’ family, she brought Tk 300,000 from her father and built a separate house.

At one point, Mahbub Hossain and his younger brother Qatar expatriate Mostafa Hossain grabbed her house. On 1 August, they beat Rehana Akter and his five-year-old son.

On 4 August, Rehana Akter filed a case with the Brahmanbaria court. The court sent Mahbub Hossain to jail in the case. He was released from jail on bail.

The plaintiff’s lawyer Akram Hossain and Md Mamun said the court granted Mahbub Hossain the bail on condition that he would settle the case with her sister-in-law but he did do so.

On Tuesday, Mahbub Hossain appeared before the court and sought bail but the court rejected his plea and sent him to jail.

When asked Brahmanbaria district BCL president Rabiul Islam told Protholm Alo he heard that the court ordered the police to send BCL leader Mahbub Hossain to jail in the case filed by his sister-in-law under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. Necessary would be taken to look into the matter, he added.