MP Gazi Nazrul’s first wife sent to jail after remand

A Dhaka court today (22 September) sent Maksuda Islam, first wife of Satkhira-4 MP Gazi Nazrul Islam, to jail after she completed a one-day remand in a case over the alleged abetment of the death of the lawmaker’s second wife, Mariam Khatun.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ripon Hossain passed the order after Detective Branch Inspector Mohammad Salahuddin, also the investigating officer, produced Maksuda before the court and sought her detention in jail custody.

Sub-Inspector Rafiqul Islam of the prosecution department confirmed the matter.

Maksuda was not brought before the court during the hearing, and no bail or other petition was filed on her behalf, he said.

In the custody petition, the investigating officer said questioning Maksuda during the remand had yielded “important information” and that keeping her in custody was necessary for a fair and impartial investigation.

Police recovered the hanging body of 19-year-old Mariam Khatun from a flat at NAM Bhaban in Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Sunday evening (20 September).

Mariam’s father, SM Masum Billah, later filed a case accusing Gazi Nazrul, Maksuda and Mariam’s maternal uncle Obaidur Rahman of abetting her suicide.

The court on Monday placed Gazi Nazrul on a four-day remand and Maksuda on a one-day remand after police sought seven days for both.

According to the case statement, Mariam married Nazrul, 75, in June under Islamic law and subsequently lived with the lawmaker and Maksuda at the NAM Bhaban flat opposite the Jatiya Sangsad complex.

The complaint alleges that Nazrul and Maksuda subjected Mariam to physical and mental abuse after the marriage. It also says she told family members about the alleged abuse by telephone on several occasions.

According to the case statement, Nazrul called Mariam’s father on 20 September and asked him to come to the flat. He later found her hanging from a ceiling fan with a scarf around her neck.

Police subsequently recovered several handwritten notes from the room where Mariam stayed, said Fazlul Karim, additional deputy commissioner of the DMP’s Tejgaon Division.

The notes contained statements reflecting distress over the relationship, according to the case materials.

The allegations against the accused have not been established in court, and police are investigating the circumstances surrounding Mariam’s death.

In July, several videos allegedly showing private moments between Mariam and Nazrul circulated on social media, prompting criticism of the lawmaker.

Nazrul later identified Mariam as his second wife.

On 22 July, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami expelled him after an internal investigation found what the party described as evidence of “moral misconduct”. The expulsion was made under Article 62 of the party’s constitution, and Jamaat said it would inform the Election Commission.