Man who livestreamed wife’s murder gets death penalty

A court has handed a death sentence to a Feni man who hacked his wife to death and livestreamed the incident on Facebook.

Feni District and Sessions Judge Jebunnesa announced the verdict on Thursday.

The court also fined convict Obaidul Haque Bhuiyan Tutul Tk 50,000.

Tutul, who hails from Barahipur in Feni, was present in the dock when the verdict was announced.

According to case documents, following a domestic feud, Tutul tied his wife Tahmina Akhter, 28, and hacked her to death on Apr 15, 2020. He also livestreamed the incident on Facebook.

“Tahmina used to blackmail my family. From today, my family will be spared from blackmail,” Tutul had said during the livestreaming.

He also begged forgiveness from everyone for killing his wife and requested them to take care of his daughter.

After a lockdown was imposed in Dhaka due to the pandemic, Tutul, who worked at a clothing store in the city, returned to his village home.

After killing his wife, Tutul called the 333 emergency line and asked the police to come over. Police came and seized his mobile phone and the machete used to kill Tahmina.

Tahmina Akhter was the daughter of Shahabuddin from Akdia village in Cumilla. She eloped with Tutul and married him. The couple reportedly fought regularly over their lack of money. Tutul allegedly beat his wife for a dowry and took money from his in-laws quite a few times, according to the case documents.

At one point, Tahmina refused to provide money from her parents, even after Tutul pressured her.

Tahmina’s father Shahabuddin filed a murder case on the day his daughter was killed, said public prosecutor Hafez Ahmed.

On Nov 11 that year, investigation officer SI Md Imran Hossain submitted the charge sheet to the court.

The court framed the charges on Dec 15 and began recording testimony on Jan 13, 2021.

“We got justice. My daughter’s soul will be at peace if the verdict is implemented soon. We hope it will be soon,” said Tahmina’s father.

Defence lawyer Abdus Sattar said the verdict will be appealed at a higher court.

“The verdict was given based on a statement recorded under section 164. We haven’t received justice. We’ll appeal to the High Court soon,” he said.