Protesters demand punishment of MP Gazi Nazrul over second wife’s death - Prothom Alo English
Local residents stage a protest in Shyamnagar at around 11:30am on Monday, demanding punishment for Satkhira MP Gazi Nazrul Islam over the death of his second wife.Prothom AloA protest rally and demonstration were held in Shyamnagar over the death of Mariam Khatun, the second wife of Gazi Nazrul Islam, MP for Satkhira-4. The protesters demanded a proper investigation into her death and punishment for the lawmaker.
The programme was organised under the banner of Sachetan Nagarik Samaj at the bus stand intersection in Shyamnagar upazila headquarters at around 11:30am today, Monday.
More than 100 people took part in the demonstration. They carried banners and placards and chanted various slogans against Gazi Nazrul Islam. At one point, they expressed their anger by making an effigy of the MP with straw and cloth.
They then marched from the bus stand intersection through the upazila parishad road and ended the procession in front of the Shyamnagar Press Club, where they set fire to the effigy.
Asadul Islam, a local resident who took part in the demonstration, said, “We believe the young woman was subjected to inhumane abuse under the guise of a staged drama. When the abuse became unbearable, she chose to take her own life.
A young life has been lost in this incident, and we strongly condemn and protest it. We want a proper investigation, and the person responsible should be brought to justice and given the maximum punishment. We do not want such a person as the MP for Satkhira-4. If the maximum punishment under the law is the death penalty, then we want him hanged.”
At one point, protesters expressed their anger by making an effigy of Gazi Nazrul Islam with straw and cloth.Prothom AloRafiqul Islam, member secretary of the Bhurulia union unit of the BNP in Shyamnagar, who also took part in the protest, said, “There have been allegations against Gazi Nazrul Islam of raping a young woman on different occasions after luring her with the promise of a job. When the matter became known, discussions and protests began locally.
We believe an attempt was then made to cover up the matter through marriage. However, Mariam’s death does not appear to us to have been a normal suicide. We suspect that she may have been killed and then hanged. We therefore demand a proper investigation to uncover the truth.”
A Jamaat-e-Islami activist who took part in the demonstration but declined to give his name said, “I worked for Jamaat during the election. I was a declared activist and also worked as Gazi Nazrul Islam’s personal aide. Given the allegations that have now emerged against him, I despise him from the bottom of my heart. It should also be investigated whether anyone else was involved in Mariam’s death.”
Mariam Khatun, 19, was found hanging in a flat on the third floor of Building 5 of NAM Bhaban in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, at around 7:00pm yesterday, Sunday. Police said they also recovered a note from the scene. A forensic examination will determine whether it was written by Mariam.
Mariam’s father, Masum Billah, filed a case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station last night on charges of abetment of suicide. Gazi Nazrul Islam, his first wife Maksuda Begum and Mariam’s maternal uncle Obaidur Rahman were named as accused in the case. Police have arrested the MP and his wife in connection with the case.
Earlier, a video showing Gazi Nazrul Islam in an intimate moment with Mariam circulated on social media, sparking discussion. Gazi Nazrul later said that the young woman was his second wife. Jamaat-e-Islami subsequently expelled him from the party.
