New Bride Dies Six Days After Wedding in Sherpur; Husband and Mother-in-Law Detained

A newly married woman named Lima Akter (20) has died in Nalitabari upazila of Sherpur, just six days after her wedding. Her husband and in-laws have been accused of torturing and killing her following a dispute over goods sent from her father's home not being to their liking. Police have detained her husband Ekramul (22) and her mother-in-law Farida Begum (50) for questioning in connection with the incident.

The incident took place in the early hours of Wednesday (October 21) in Gopalpur village of Rupnarayankura Union in Nalitabari upazila. The deceased, Lima, was the daughter of Saidul Islam of Majhiail village in Dhara Union of the neighbouring Haluaghat upazila.

Speaking to family members, it was learned that Lima was married to Ekramul in a family-arranged ceremony on October 15. The dower (denmohor) had been set at Tk 170,000. Last Sunday, Lima visited her father's home accompanied by her husband. She returned to her husband's home on Tuesday afternoon.

At that time, a dispute arose because the goods sent from her father's home were not to the liking of her in-laws. Relatives allege that Lima was physically tortured over that dispute, and claim she was eventually killed by strangulation.

Lima's family members said that at around 3 a.m., Ekramul phoned one of his brothers-in-law to say that Lima was ill. Later, at around 4 a.m., members of the in-laws' household took her to the Nalitabari Upazila Health Complex, where the doctor on duty declared her dead.

After she was taken to the hospital, those concerned noticed injury marks on Lima's body. The matter was then reported to the police.

Fahad Rahman, Resident Medical Officer (RMO) of the Nalitabari Upazila Health Complex, said the new bride had died before being brought to the hospital.

Denying the allegations, husband Ekramul told reporters that they had gone to sleep at night. Waking in the middle of the night, he found the door of the room open. Going outside, he found his wife's body hanging by an orna (scarf) from the sunshade of a neighbouring semi-pucca house. He said he then brought Lima down himself.

Nalitabari Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ashrafuzzaman said there are injury marks on the new bride's body. The body has been sent to the morgue of Sherpur District Sadar Hospital for an autopsy. Preparations to file a case over the incident are under way.

The death of a new bride only six days after her wedding has spread grief and anger in the area, and a photograph of Lima's mother wailing at the hospital has come to light. The family claims torture and murder; the husband claims suicide—establishing the truth between the two accounts will now depend on the autopsy report and the police investigation.

Police are questioning the detained husband and mother-in-law, and the police station says preparations to file a case are in progress. Once the autopsy result is available, a clear idea about the cause of death will emerge and the investigation will proceed accordingly, officials said.