Police claim husband ‘in debt’ killed woman whose body they recovered in Uttara

Babul believed his wife took a loan and gave that amount to her mother and brother, say police

Police have “unravelled the mystery” of the killing of a woman whose body they recovered from Dhaka’s Uttara two days ago, they claim.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Uttara Division Deputy Commissioner Md Mohidul Islam said the husband of the woman who was “in debt”, killed her due to a family dispute and in a planned way.

Police recovered the woman's body from the area near the playground of Sector 17 of Rajuk under Turag Police Station on Thursday morning.

Information including photos was sent to police stations in nearby districts, including those under DMP, to identify the body.

Later, the Cantonment Police Station informed that a related general diary or GD was filed. A woman named Monowara Begum filed the GD last Monday, reporting the disappearance of her daughter Bithi Akter Bilkis, 35.

Monowara went to the Turag Police Station and identified the body. Police opened an investigation based on the information she gave.

During the process, Bilkis’s husband Md Babul Mia, 47, and another person called Md Samrat, 20, were arrested. Deputy Commissioner Mohidul said both of them confessed to killing Bithi.

In a press briefing on Sunday, he said that Bilkis was taking rest in their rented house in Manikdi last week. Her husband Babul called her over using a mobile phone bearing a number unknown to her.

Bilkis’s mother Monowara was present at her house at that time. While leaving, Bilkis told her mother that her husband had asked her to go to the ECB premises with her bank chequebook, NID and a photograph. She would need those documents to borrow money with interest.

However, once she left, Bilkis’s mother could not contact her anymore. When she could not find her daughter anywhere, Monowara filed a GD the next day.

Police officer Mohidul said, “Based on information from the victim's mother, we brought Babul to the police station on Saturday and interrogated him extensively.

“At first, Babul started providing false information to the police. He claimed that he was at Manikdi on the day of the incident, but we found his and Bilkis's phone locations in the Uttara area.”

"After a tight interrogation, Babul and his three associates confessed to killing his wife and told the police that he had been planning this for the last two to three months."

Later, based on the information he provided, Samrat was arrested from the Kalapani area of Mirpur, said Mohidul, adding: "Samrat held Bilkis's legs, and Babul strangled her to death. Two others were at the scene at that time."

“We’ve got their identities, but we're not disclosing now for the sake of the investigation. We hope to arrest the other two soon.”

Citing Babul, the deputy commissioner said the couple had been in a domestic dispute for the last six years. Both of them took loans worth Tk 2-2.5 million and had to pay a hefty amount as interest every month.

Babul worked as a motor mechanic in a workshop and earned about Tk 31,000 to 32,000. He struggled to pay the interest every month.

"Bilkis often scolded her husband when lenders visited their house to collect interest. This led to constant marital strife. Babul believed his wife had taken a loan and gave that amount to her mother and brother. When the dispute peaked, Babul planned to kill his wife 2-3 months ago. Then he murdered her with the help of his associates.”

Samrat told the police that he got involved in the murder after being promised to be given Tk 50,000 to Tk 100,000.

Police also found that Babul was a drug addict. However, he did not have any previous criminal record.