Today (11 November), Judge Mohammad Sarwar Alam of the Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal for Offences Disrupting Public Safety rejected the accused’s discharge petitions and ordered the framing of charges, confirmed bench assistant Mohammad Hasan Ali.
Representational image/Collected
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Representational image/Collected
A Dhaka court has framed charges against five people, including Ashraful Alam, husband of a Canada expatriate woman who was murdered and buried in the capital’s Dakshinkhan area, formally beginning the trial in the case.
The court also set 14 December for recording witness testimonies.
Today (11 November), Judge Mohammad Sarwar Alam of the Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal for Offences Disrupting Public Safety rejected the accused’s discharge petitions and ordered the framing of charges, confirmed bench assistant Mohammad Hasan Ali.
The accused facing trial are Ashraful, husband of Afroza; her father-in-law Shamsuddin Ahmed; brother-in-law Sajib Alam; Sajib’s wife Tahmina Bashar; and aunt-in-law, lawyer Panna Chowdhury.
Among them, Ashraful is in jail and was produced before the court ahead of the hearing. The other accused appeared in court on bail.
The charges were read out to the accused, who pleaded not guilty and sought justice.
Several lawyers, including former Dhaka Bar Association president Khorshed Alam, represented the accused and sought their discharge. On behalf of the plaintiff, Barrister Mahmud Al Mamun Himu argued in favour of framing charges against them.
On 26 May 2023, Ashraful and the other accused allegedly hacked his wife, Mosa Afroza, to death with a “boti” (a traditional curved cutting blade) in Nadda, Dakshinkhan.
Following the incident, Afroza’s brother Ariful Islam filed a murder case with Dakshinkhan Police Station.
On 24 December 2024, investigating officer Rezia Khatun, a sub-inspector of Dakshinkhan Police Station, submitted a charge sheet against five people, including Ashraful, after completing the investigation.
Ashraful fled to Canada after allegedly murdering Afroza. He returned to Bangladesh on 12 February this year and was arrested by police at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. He has remained in jail since then.
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