Kaberi was murdered in March 2015, allegedly by Zahirul Islam Palash, a business associate of Krishna’s husband and BRTA Deputy Director Sitangshu Shekhar Biswas who was also injured in the assault at their home.
On Thursday, the charges were read out to Palash at Dhaka's Speedy Trial Tribunal 1, when he pleaded not guilty.
The court indicted Palash, who worked as a manager for a brokerage firm, and fixed May 25 for witnesses deposition, said Prosecutor Abu Abdullah Bhuiyan.
On Mar 30, 2015, Palash went to greet Krishna's husband Biswas on his birthday with a cake, sweets and flowers.
The family was at their Iqbal Road apartment in Mohammadpur and Palash was apparently known to them.
Biswas lost consciousness after sipping some fruit juice which Palash may have spiked. He then tried to assault him with a hammer.
When Krishna tried to save her husband, she was battered mercilessly along with Sitangshu. Her saree caught fire from the candles on the cake and she was burnt badly.
When their daughters ‘Shruti’, 14, and ‘Atri’, 8, shouted for help, they were also attacked by Palash.
Krishna, who taught at the Mission International College in Dhaka's Adabar, succumbed to the burn injuries at hospital the next day.