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A Dhaka court has sentenced domestic worker Shurobhi Akhter Nahid to death for the murder of Afroza Begum and her househelp Diti in the capital’s Dhanmondi in 2019.
However, another accused, housekeeper Bachchu Mia, was acquitted as the charges against him were not proven.
Dhaka’s Seventh Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Tawheeda Akhter delivered the verdict on Tuesday, according to prosecutor Mahfuz Hasan.
“Apart from the death penalty, a fine of Tk 50,000 and an additional five months’ imprisonment for default have been imposed,” he said.
The prosecutor added that he was not fully satisfied with the verdict.
Before the judgment was pronounced, both accused were brought before the court from jail.
After the verdict, Shurobhi was sent back to prison with a warrant of conviction. The court ordered that Bachchu be released if no other cases are pending against him.
On his way back from court following the acquittal, Bachchu expressed gratitude. Shurobhi, meanwhile, claimed that she had been framed.
Dilruba Sultana Ruba, the daughter of Afroza Begum and the plaintiff in the case, expressed dissatisfaction after Bachchu was acquitted.
The verdict had earlier been scheduled for Feb 8 but was deferred to Feb 17 as it was not ready.
On the night of Nov 1, 2019, the bloodied bodies of Afroza, 65, and Diti, 18, were recovered from the fifth floor of a building known as “Lobelia House” on Road No. 28 (New 15) in Dhanmondi. Both victims had their throats slit.
Her daughter, Dilruba Sultana Ruba, lived in the adjacent flat, a duplex on the fifth and sixth floors of the same building with her husband and children.
Dilruba’s husband Kazi Monir Uddin Tarim is the managing director of Teamtex Group and deputy managing director of Creative Group.
She filed the murder case on Nov 3, two days after the incident.
According to the case dossier, Dilruba and her mother lived in the same building.
Between 4:30pm and 5:00pm on the day of the incident, Dilruba sent her house aide to Afroza’s flat for work.
When she called her mother around 6:30pm and received no response, she sent another house aide, Riaz, to check on her.
Riaz rang the bell and knocked on the door but received no response.
Finding the door open, he entered the flat and saw Afroza lying in a pool of blood on the dining room floor.
He immediately ran back to inform Dilruba.
Dilruba rushed to the flat and found her mother’s body in the dining area and the blood-soaked body of Diti lying in the adjacent guest room.
The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) later took over the probe, replacing the local police station and the Detective Branch.
After nearly 27 months of investigation, the PBI submitted a charge sheet against the two accused on Feb 1, 2022.
The trial began on Oct 11, 2022, after charges were framed. During the proceedings, the court recorded testimony from 25 of the 32 listed witnesses.