Journalist charged with torturing wife for dowry

A journalist has accused her journalist husband of torturing her over dowry.

Sajida Islam Parul also alleged in a case started with the Hatirjheel police in Dhaka that Rezaul Karim Plabon, a staff correspondent of the Daily Jugantor, “killed her foetus”.

“We are trying to arrest him,” Inspector Md Mohiuddin said after the filing of the case on Monday morning.

Parul told bdnews24.com Plabon demanded Tk 5 million from her to buy a flat after the marriage on Apr 2 following a relationship.

He started abusing her physically every day when she declined to get him the money, Parul said.

When Plabon was preparing to travel to Kurigram’s Chilmari to see his ailing mother on Apr 29, Parul wanted to accompany him but the husband declined and beat her up, the woman said.

“He got furious when I told him that I was carrying his baby and beat me up even more that day. He later travelled to his ancestral home on a bike,” Parul said.

Plabon did not return even after she told him that she had health issues related to pregnancy, Parul said.

According to the case dossier, she travelled to Plabon’s home by an ambulance with the help of his colleagues, but his parents refused to accept her as their daughter-in-law.

They demanded that their son’s wish be fulfilled, Parul said in the case.

When she protested, Plabon’s parents and two brothers assaulted her, she said.

Three other journalists rescued her and took her to the Chilmari Upazila Health Complex.

She fell ill on return from Kurigram and later learnt that the foetus was damaged, Parul said.

She alleged that her illness was due to the “physical abuse and mental stress” caused by her husband.

Plabon told bdnews24.com that he sent a divorce notice to Parul on Apr 30 after learning that Parul had violated sharia by “hiding her previous marriage”.

Plabon told bdnews24.com that he sent a divorce notice to Parul on Apr 30 after learning that Parul had violated sharia by “hiding her previous marriage from him”.

Parul said she had received a “divorce letter” via WhatsApp but was not sure whether it would be legally effective.