Husband among five indicted over Canada expat woman’s murder

A Dhaka court on Wednesday framed charges against five people, including the husband of a Canada expatriate woman, over her murder and the burial of her body in the capital’s Dakshinkhan area in 2023.

Judge Mohammad Sarwar Alam of the Dhaka Tribunal for the Prevention of Offences Against Public Safety framed the charges and commenced the trial.

The court also rejected the discharge petitions of the accused and fixed 14 December for recording witness statements.

The victim, Afroza, a Canada expatriate, was hacked to death at Nadda in Dakshinkhan on 26 May 2023. Her brother, Ariful Islam, filed the murder case with Dakshinkhan Police Station.

The accused in the case are Afroza’s husband Ashraful Alam, father-in-law Shamsuddin Ahmed, brother-in-law Sajib Alam, Sajib’s wife Tahmina Bashar and aunt-in-law, lawyer Panna Chowdhury.

On the day, Ashraful was produced before the court from jail, while the other four accused appeared on bail. They pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out.

On 24 December 2024, Sub-Inspector Rezia Khatun of Dakshinkhan Police Station submitted a charge sheet against the five accused.

According to police, Ashraful fled to Canada after the murder. He returned to Bangladesh on 12 February and was arrested by police at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. He has remained in jail since then.