Sylhet Bureau :
Husband Hossain Ahmed Chowdhury Akhter (45) tried to kill his 10-month pregnant wife Sabana Begum (20) by pouring petrol on her body and setting it on fire in Kanaighat, Sylhet. He was absconding for three days after the incident, but was finally arrested by the police with the help of locals.
On Monday (July 14), the police arrested him from a relative’s house in Charipara village of Satbank union of Kanaighat upazila in Sylhet.
According to police and local sources, the brutal attack was carried out on Sabana Begum, daughter of poor daily wage laborer Abdul Jabbar of Kandla village of Lakshim Prasad Purba union of Kanaighat, at around 8 pm last Saturday. There had been a family feud since the marriage. That day, Akhter went to take his sick wife from her father’s house to his own house. When his mother-in-law stopped him, he got angry and left the house. After a while, he bought petrol in a Tiger Drink bottle from the market, poured it on his sleeping wife and set her on fire.
Hearing his daughter’s screams, family members and people around him came forward to put out the fire. Later, Sabana Begum was rescued in critical condition and was first admitted to the Upazila Health Complex and from there to the burn unit of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.
While undergoing treatment, Sabana Begum gave birth to a stillborn baby girl on Sunday morning. She is currently fighting for her life in the hospital.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kanaighat Police Station Abdul Awal said that Hossain Ahmed Chowdhury Akhter has been arrested on charges of setting his wife on fire. Preparations are underway to file a case with the police station on behalf of the victim’s family.
Regarding the incident, local UP member Fakhr Uddin Chowdhury said, “I went to the hospital on Saturday night and saw Sabana’s condition. Later, when the police were informed, the dead newborn was buried.
Some locals said that Akhtar had been mentally ill for a long time and had once been in Kuwait. However, they could not find any reason for such a cruel incident.
Sabana’s father Abdul Jabbar said, “I thought I would get my daughter married off and it would be good. Now she is fighting death in the hospital. I want justice.”
