Man cremates wife to hide evidence of killing

A man gave a confessional statement before a magistrate Saturday that the reason he cremated his Muslim wife’s body after her death was to hide the evidence that he killed her.

Bablu Dey, 30, gave his statement to the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Begum Anjuman Ara on 21 August under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, almost three weeks after his wife Yasmin Akhtar Annie, 24, died, and he cremated her body without informing her family members.

“My wife lost consciousness and fell on the ground as I hit her on the head and the face in the heat of the moment. Then I called on a physician from a local pharmacy who declared her dead. Next, I burnt her body on the advice of the influential locals to prevent any police action,” Bablu told the court.

Complainant Roksana Begum told the police that her daughter Yasmin, a resident of Chattogram city’s Bandartila, worked for an apparel factory, and Bablu was employed at a local saloon.

“She got married to Bablu, who identified himself as Muslim when they formed a romantic attachment. However, soon after marriage Bablu’s full religious identity was revealed, and Yasmin was tortured over their differences. They have a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter,” she said.

On 3 August, Roksana got to know that Yasmin was murdered by her husband and then quickly cremated to prevent any police action.

“I filed a case with the Chattogram chief judicial magistrate court over the incident. Bablu was among the 18 people accused in the case,” said Roksana.

Next, Boalkhali police arrested Bablu Thursday night.

The plaintiff’s lawyer Hasan Ali said, “Bablu told the court that he cremated his wife’s body on the advice of a few influential locals. After recording his statement, the court gave an order to send him behind bars.”