Jamaat member hired killer to kill former wife; paid Tk 50,000

A court has sent a Jamaat member from Lakshmipur to prison over allegations that he hired a contract killer to murder his former wife.

Abu Bakkar Siddique, a former Rukon of Jamaat in Char Kalkini Union under Kamalnagar upazila, allegedly orchestrated the killing of his former wife.

Police submitted the charge sheet on 28 November last year in connection with the murder, which took place on 15 June of the same year.

Although the investigation identified Abu Bakkar as the principal accused and mastermind behind the killing, police failed to arrest him for an extended period.

On Monday, he surrendered before the court, which, following a hearing, sent him to jail.

The plaintiff's lawyer, Amjad Hossain, told Prothom Alo, "Accused Abu Bakkar Siddique surrendered before the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal and sought bail. After the hearing, Tribunal Judge Sadekur Rahman rejected his bail petition and ordered that he be sent to prison."

The police investigation revealed that Abu Bakkar had married several times previously. Most recently, he married Saleha Begum but concealed the marriage from his family. Saleha Begum's previous husband had died.

The investigation officer in the case, Md Kamrul Hasan, currently serves as Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Detective Branch (DB) in Netrokona district police.

When asked about the case, Md Kamrul Hasan said, "At one stage, Abu Bakkar lived at Saleha Begum's house in Balirpole, Purba Char Martin, Kamalnagar upazila. He used to tutor her children there. After Saleha's husband died, he secretly married her without the knowledge of her family members. At that time, Abu Bakkar already had a wife and family at his ancestral home in Char Kalkini, Kamalnagar."

Investigators found that after marrying Saleha, Abu Bakkar took money from her and disappeared without repaying it. He later divorced her. According to the charge sheet, Abu Bakkar took Tk 3 million (30 lakh) from Saleha after their marriage, claiming that he intended to purchase land.

Instead of buying the land, he demanded additional money from her. The financial dispute between the couple escalated when Saleha repeatedly pressed him to return the money.

Investigators believe that Abu Bakkar then decided to have her killed. He offered Tk 50,000 to a man named Md Selim to carry out the murder. In accordance with the agreement, Selim murdered Saleha.

Court sources said that authorities recovered the body of Saleha Begum from the bank of the Meghna River near Motirhat in Kamalnagar upazila on 16 June 2025.

She had been murdered a day earlier, on 15 June. Following the incident, her daughter, Fatema Begum, filed a murder case with Kamalnagar police station against unidentified individuals.

Police arrested a man named Selim in July 2025. During court proceedings, he confessed to his involvement in the murder and gave a judicial statement. Following his confession, police made several attempts to arrest Abu Bakkar but failed to locate him.

After completing the investigation, police submitted the charge sheet on 28 November 2025. According to the charge sheet, Selim lured Saleha Begum to a secluded location at Abu Bakkar's instruction. He then raped her before strangling her to death.

After committing the murder, he took the gold jewellery that Saleha had been carrying and went into hiding. He later sold the jewellery in Savar.

Saleha's former husband, Abu Bakkar Siddique, after one year, surrendered before the court on Monday and was subsequently sent to prison.

AR Hafiz Ullah, secretary of Lakshmipur district unit Jamaat-e-Islami, said, "Abu Bakkar currently holds no position in Jamaat-e-Islami. However, he was associated with the party's politics many years ago."

He also described the allegation of Abu Bakkar's involvement in the murder as "deeply regrettable."