Staff Reporter:
A court has sentenced Rezaul Karim Reza to death for the murder of his wife, Dr. Jannatul Naim Siddika, following an incident at a residential hotel in Dhaka’s Kalabagan area.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md. Sabbir Foyez delivered the verdict on Thursday. Alongside the death sentence, the court imposed a fine of Tk 20,000 on Reza.
An arrest warrant has been issued as the accused has been absconding since securing bail from the High Court three years ago, according to Md. Riaz Hossain, a bench assistant at the court.
According to the case dossier, Reza and Jannatul met through social media in 2019. After that, they became involved in a romantic relationship and got married in October 2020. Since they eloped in secret from their families, they lived at different residential hotels at different times as husband and wife.
On Aug 12, 2022, Reza took Jannatul to a residential hotel in Panthapath on the pretext of celebrating her birthday. There, during a heated argument and a scuffle over his relationships with a number of different women, Reza slit Jannatul’s throat with a sharp knife and killed her.
Reza then closed the hotel room door from the outside and went to Chattogram.
Jannatul’s father Shafiqul Alam filed a murder case with Kalabagan Police Station over the killing.
The investigating officer in the case, Inspector Abu Zafar Mohammad Mahfuzul Kabir of Kalabagan Police Station filed a chargesheet in court on Dec 12, 2023 accusing Reza. On Mar 7, 2024, he was indicted and the trial began.
The court heard the testimonies of 21 out of 26 witnesses during the trial. After both sides concluded their arguments on Nov 9, the verdict date was fixed for Nov 13.
Jannatul, who completed her MBBS from the Community Medical College in Moghbazar, was pursuing a course in gynaecology at Dhaka Medical College. Reza was working as a senior executive in a private company.
