After funeral, wife-child of imprisoned Chhatra League leader buried in Bagerhat

Following the funeral prayers, Kaniz Subarna Swarnali (22) and her nine-month-old infant child were buried at a family graveyard in Bagerhat.

The mother and son were buried side by side at around 12:00 midnight on Saturday at the graveyard of Kaniz’s father’s home in Sabekdanga village of Sadar Upazila. Prior to this, their funeral prayers were held at 11:20 pm at the local Eidgah ground.

On Friday afternoon, police recovered Kaniz’s hanging body and the lifeless body of her nine-month-old son, Sejad Hasan Nazif, from her husband’s residence in Sabekdanga village of Sadar Upazila.

Kaniz Subarna was the wife of Jewel Hasan, also known as Saddam, president of the Bagerhat Sadar Upazila unit of Chhatra League, whose activities are now banned. Jewel is currently detained at Jashore Central Jail.

After post-mortem examinations at Bagerhat district hospital, the bodies of the mother and child were brought on Saturday afternoon to Subarna’s father’s home in Sabekdanga village.

After ritual bathing, at around 4:15 pm the bodies were taken by freezing van to Jashore Central Jail. There, Jewel saw the bodies of his wife and child for the last time.

Prison authorities said that, on humanitarian grounds, six members of Jewel’s family were allowed to enter the prison gate area along with the ambulance carrying the bodies.

According to family sources, Kaniz and Jewel were married several years ago. Jewel has been in prison since before the birth of their child.

Kaniz Subarna’s brother, Md Shuvo, said that his sister had become deeply distressed due to her husband’s imprisonment and was mentally broken.

“However, there may be other factors as well,” he said, calling on the authorities to investigate the incident. He added, “My brother-in-law was never able to hold his son even once. We took the bodies there so that he could see them one last time (at the prison gate).”

Criticism has begun to circulate on social media over the fact that Jewel was not released on parole to attend the funeral prayers of his wife and child.

Speaking to Prothom Alo by mobile phone, Bagerhat deputy commissioner Golam Md Baten said, “They were coming with a parole application, and it was explained to them. As he is detained in Jashore jail, the application must be submitted to the deputy commissioner or jail superintendent there in Jashore. The Bagerhat administration had also informed Jashore Central Jail about the matter. We spoke with the prison authorities as well so that the family could properly and respectfully see the bodies of their deceased relatives. We assisted them in going there and seeing the bodies.”

Family and local sources said that Jewel had been in hiding since 5 August 2024. He was arrested by police in Gopalganj on 5 April last year and has since been in prison in connection with multiple cases.