Wife hands over 'rapist, killer' husband

“It’s better to beg than live with such a husband.”

This was the statement of Sathi Aktar, whose information led to the arrest of her husband for allegedly raping and murdering a minor girl in Dhaka’s Keraniganj.

The father had lodged a police complaint after 8-year-old Meem Akter went missing but the police were grappling with the case as no-one had called for ransom.

Rana allegedly tried to deflect suspicion off himself by helping Meem's family look for her but could not apparently fool his wife.

At that time, Sathi spoke of her suspicion.

"I informed Meem's father and our neighbours of my husband's fishy behaviour on Aug 18," she said.

Police arrested Rana the same day and recovered the second-grader's body based on his information.

Keraniganj Model Police Station Sub-Inspector Ashok Kumar claimed the youth had already confessed to his crimes before a court.

Keraniganj police's Inspector (Investigation) Mofizur Rahman praised Sathi ‘cost her the marriage’.

He said police were planning to award her.

Sathi said she had enough reason to have her husband caught.

“The person who molests and kills an innocent child is not a human being,” she said adding she would divorce her husband.

She said she preferred working as a domestic help to living with such a man.

"I want him to be hanged [for his crimes],” she told bdnews24.com.

Rana had good relations with Meem’s father Babul Mia as they were neighbours and hailed from the same district -- Shariatpur.

Quoting Rana, police said, he had taken Meem with him to a marshland for fishing and at one stage took her to a bush and violated her.

He tied Meem’s legs and arms with her clothes after she fell unconscious and then dumped her there.

Keraniganj Police Station SI Mukul Ranjan said they did not seek his remand since he had confessed to his crimes on the day of his arrest.

The court had ordered him into jail after recording his statement.