The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, 21 October, in Gopalpur village, within Rupnarayankura Union of Nalitabari Upazila. The death has prompted allegations from the woman’s family of abuse linked to a dispute over items sent from her parental home, while her husband has claimed that she died by suicide.
The deceased, Lima Akter, was the daughter of Saidul Islam, who lives in Majhiyail village in Dhara Union, Haluaghat Upazila, Mymensingh. She married Ekramul Haque, 22, a resident of Gopalpur village, on 15 October in a family-arranged ceremony. The agreed denmohor, or dower payable to the bride under Islamic marriage arrangements, was Tk 170,000.
According to members of Lima’s family, tensions developed at her marital home over items sent by her parents at the time of the wedding. They allege that dissatisfaction with those belongings led to mistreatment and ultimately claim that Lima was subjected to abuse that resulted in her death. These allegations have yet to be independently established, and the police investigation is continuing.
Family members said Lima had visited her parental home with her husband on Sunday. She returned to her marital home on Tuesday afternoon. According to relatives, a disagreement over the items provided by her family arose after her return.
The sequence of events has become a significant part of the investigation, although it remains unclear whether the reported dispute was directly connected to her death.
Ekramul, meanwhile, has maintained that his wife died by suicide after hanging herself. His account differs from the allegations made by Lima’s relatives. Neither explanation has been conclusively established, and investigators have yet to determine the circumstances that led to her death.
Abdul Hannan, a sub-inspector at Nalitabari Police Station, said officers recovered Lima’s body and sent it to the mortuary at Sherpur District Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Her husband and mother-in-law, Farida Begum, 50, were brought to the police station for questioning in connection with the case.
The officer said the investigation was under way to establish the actual cause of death. Further details are expected to emerge after the post-mortem report becomes available.
The examination is expected to assist investigators in determining the medical cause of death, while statements from family members and other relevant evidence may help establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. The allegations made by Lima’s relatives will also need to be assessed alongside her husband’s account.
Lima’s death so soon after her wedding has raised serious questions about what happened inside the family home. However, the precise circumstances remain uncertain. Until the medical findings and police investigation provide clearer answers, the allegations of abuse and the claim of suicide must be treated as unverified accounts rather than established facts.
