MP Nazrul Reaches Settlement With Mariam’s Family

Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Gazi Nazrul Islam and his first wife, Maksuda Islam, have reached a settlement with the family of his second wife, Mariam Akter, in a case filed over her alleged abetment to suicide, according to the defence.

The settlement was presented before a Dhaka court during a bail hearing on Wednesday. Defence lawyer Mahbubur Rahman sought bail for both Gazi Nazrul and Maksuda, saying they were not involved in Mariam’s death.

He told reporters that the complainant had appeared in court and said he had no objection to the two accused being granted bail following the settlement.

The complainant also submitted an application seeking withdrawal of the case, stating that the parties had reached a settlement and that there was no objection to bail, according to a report published Wednesday.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Safatullah heard the bail petitions.

The court granted bail to Maksuda but rejected Gazi Nazrul’s bail petition, said state counsel Omar Faruk Faruqi.

Mariam, 19, was found hanging in a flat at the NAM Bhaban complex opposite the Jatiya Sangsad in Dhaka on September 20. Police later detained Gazi Nazrul and Maksuda.

That night, Mariam’s father, SM Masum Billah, filed a case accusing Gazi Nazrul, Maksuda and Mariam’s maternal uncle Obaidur Rahman of abetting her suicide.

According to the case statement, Mariam married Gazi Nazrul in June allegedly at the direct instigation of her maternal uncle. She lived with Gazi Nazrul and Maksuda at a flat in NAM Bhaban.

The complaint alleged that Mariam had told her family that she had been subjected to physical and mental abuse by Gazi Nazrul and Maksuda after the marriage. On September 20, Gazi Nazrul allegedly called her father and asked him to come to the residence, where he found Mariam hanging.

A court initially remanded Gazi Nazrul for four days and Maksuda for one day. The investigation was later transferred to the Detective Branch.

On September 24, Gazi Nazrul was placed on another four-day remand. On September 28, he was sent to jail after completion of the remand, with the court rejecting his bail petition.

Obaidur Rahman, another accused in the case, has also been arrested and sent to jail.

The allegations against the accused remain subject to the ongoing legal proceedings.