A court in Dhaka has sentenced a man to death for strangling his wife, Rehana, to death over demands for dowry in South Keraniganj. The court also fined him Tk 100,000 in connection with the killing, which took place in July 2019.
The verdict was delivered on Sunday, 25 October, by Munshi Md Moshiar Rahman, judge of Dhaka’s Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-4. The tribunal’s Special Public Prosecutor, Md Ershad Alam, also known as George, confirmed the ruling.
The accused, Md Mizanur Rahman, also known as Mizan Hossain, was brought before the court ahead of the verdict. Following the announcement, the court ordered that a sentence warrant be issued and that he be sent to prison. Mizan had been living in a rented house in the Char Mirerbag area of South Keraniganj.
According to the case statement, Rehana and Mizan married around 11 years before the incident. They had two daughters together. The prosecution alleged that Mizan subjected his wife to physical and mental abuse over repeated demands for dowry after their marriage.
In an effort to preserve their daughter’s marriage, Rehana’s family reportedly provided various items, including furniture and gold jewellery. They also arranged for a tin-roofed house to be built. Despite these contributions, the demands for money allegedly continued.
Around 20 days before the killing, Mizan reportedly demanded a further Tk 50,000 from Rehana’s family. Her brother, Md Abbas, subsequently sent Tk 2,000 through a mobile financial service. According to the complaint, Mizan assaulted Rehana again after failing to receive the remaining amount.
The case statement alleged that Mizan strangled Rehana at their rented home in Char Mirerbag at an unspecified time before 7 am on 25 July 2019.
The following day, on 26 July, Rehana’s elder brother, Abbas, filed a murder case with South Keraniganj Police Station. Police arrested Mizan after the case was lodged. He subsequently made a voluntary confession before a court under Section 164 of Bangladesh’s Code of Criminal Procedure.
After completing the investigation, Sub-Inspector Md Akkas Mia, the investigation officer, submitted the charge sheet to the court on 29 December 2019. Charges were subsequently framed against the accused, and the trial began.
During the proceedings, the tribunal recorded testimony from 10 witnesses before reaching its decision. After considering the evidence presented during the trial, the court convicted Mizan and imposed the death penalty along with the financial penalty.
The case highlights the serious consequences of dowry-related abuse, which can expose women to sustained domestic violence and, in the most extreme cases, fatal attacks. Although families may provide money or household goods in the hope of protecting a marriage, such payments do not necessarily end demands for further dowry.
Bangladesh has legal provisions addressing dowry-related offences and violence against women. The case also underscores the role of police investigations, witness testimony and judicial proceedings in bringing allegations of domestic violence before the courts. The sentence announced on Sunday marks the conclusion of the trial at the tribunal, although the report does not specify whether any appeal has been filed or what further legal steps may follow.
