Model Piyasha on 2-day remand over Munia rape-murder

Faria Mahbub Piyasha

A Dhaka court on Sunday placed model Faria Mahabub Piyasha on a 2-day remand allowing police to quiz her in a case over the murder of college student Mosarat Jahan Munia after rape in her Gulshan flat, reports UNB.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Nivana Khayer Jessy passed the order after Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) inspector Golam Muktar Md Ashraful Islam sought a 7-day remand to interrogate Piyasha about the case.

Also after the hearing the court rejected and defense lawyer's plea to release her on bail.

On 6 September, Munia's elder sister Nusrat Jahan Tania filed the case with Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-8 against eight people including model Piyasha who is now in jail in a separate Narcotics case.

Piyasha has already been shown arrested in Munia rape-and-murder case, PBI sources said.

The main accused in this case is Bashundhara Group managing director Sayem Sobhan Anvir, who allegedly had a relationship with Munia. According to the case, Anvir's family friend Piyasha was known to both of them and is believed to have knowledge about the sensational incident.

The other accused in the case are Bashundhara Group's chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan Shah Alam, Shah Alam's wife Afroza Begum, Anvir's wife Sabrina Sayem Saifa Rahman Mim, owner of the flat Ibrahim Ahmed Ripon and his wife Sharmim Akhter. All of them are accused of abetting the crime.

On 29 September, the High Court rejected Anvir's plea to grant him anticipatory bail, but gave it to his wife.

Munia, 21, was found dead in the Gulshan flat on 26 April.

Within hours Gulshan police recovered her body hanging from a ceiling fan of her room with the elder sister alleging that her feet were touching the bed and there were marks of injury on the body.

Munia's sister first filed a case against Anvir accusing him of incitement to Munia's suicide.

Case investigator Abul Hasan, who was also the officer-in-charge of Gulshan police station found no evidence of Anvir's abetting the suicide and later a lower court cleared him of the charge.

At this stage Munia's sister approached the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-8 and filed a new case of murder-after-rape against Anvir and seven others.

The tribunal recorded the case and entrusted more efficient and skilled PBI to probe the case.