Jailed BCL leader’s wife, son laid to rest

A young woman and her nine-month-old son, who died in a tragic case of murder-suicide perpetrated by the mother at their home in Sabekdanga village of Bagerhat Sadar upazila, were laid to rest on Saturday night.

The namaz-e-janaza of Kaniz Surbana Swarnali, 22, and her son Nazim Hossain was held at the Sabekdanga Dakhil Madrasa ground around 11pm. 

They were later buried at the family graveyard around 11:30pm.

Earlier in the evening, the bodies were taken by ambulance to the gate of Jashore Central Jail, where Swarnali’s husband, Jewel Hasan Saddam—president of Bagerhat Sadar upazila unit Chhatra League—was allowed to see them. Saddam has been imprisoned in Jashore jail.

Meanwhile, Bagerhat Deputy Commissioner Golam Md Baten held a press briefing on Sunday afternoon regarding the issue of Saddam’s parole.

He said that on Friday evening, Saddam’s maternal uncle Md Hemayet Uddin applied for parole release at the deputy commissioner’s residence. However, as Saddam is detained in Jashore jail, the matter falls outside Bagerhat’s jurisdiction, and the family was advised to apply to the Jashore prison authorities.

The deputy commissioner added that under the Parole Rules 2016, the district magistrate of the district where the prisoner was staying has the authority to decide on parole. Due to legal constraints, Saddam could not be released. He also expressed condolences over the deaths of the mother and child.

In a separate press release issued on Sunday, the media cell of the Jashore Deputy Commissioner’s office said Saddam was transferred to Jashore Central Jail from Bagerhat jail on 15 December 2025. 

The release stated that no formal application for parole had been submitted to either the Jashore District Magistrate or the Jashore Central Jail authorities following the deaths.

The release, signed by Assistant Commissioner Ashish Kumar Das Swashakti, said that considering the family’s verbal request and humanitarian grounds, prison authorities arranged for Saddam to see the bodies of his wife and their child at the jail gate after consulting higher authorities.

Police said Swarnali allegedly drowned her infant son in a bucket of water before hanging herself at her residence on Friday afternoon.

Family members said Swarnali had been married to Saddam for about five years and had been under severe mental stress while attempting to secure his release.

Her brother, Shubho, said repeated failures to obtain her husband’s release had deeply affected her mental health.

Swarnali was the daughter of Ruhul Amin Howlader, a district-level leader of the Jatiya Party.