Comilla University student's hanging body recovered from rented home in Fatullah, husband in police custody

Police have recovered the hanging body of a Comilla University student from a rented home in Fatullah, Narayanganj. Her family insists the death was not suicide but a planned murder. Police have taken the student's husband into custody for questioning.

The student was Farzana Islam, of the 2019-20 session of the pharmacy department at Comilla University. Her husband, Nazmul Islam, is a former student of the same department from the 2016-17 session.

Farzana's elder brother, Mohammad Ariful Islam, said her body was recovered at about 10:30pm on Saturday (24 October) from the rented home in the Bhuighar area under Fatullah police station. Family members rushed to the scene after receiving the news.

Ariful Islam said Farzana had married Nazmul Islam for love three years ago. Nazmul was unemployed at the time of the marriage, and Farzana's family supported him financially for about a year. When Nazmul got a job, that financial support was stopped.

The family alleges that even after that, Nazmul repeatedly mistreated Farzana over money and beat her. At one point, unable to endure the abuse, Farzana left for her father's home and stayed there for four months. According to the family, Nazmul made no effort to contact her during that time.

A case was then filed against Nazmul. Later, through a family settlement, Nazmul took Farzana back to his home and the family withdrew the case. Ariful Islam said that on Saturday Nazmul's brother-in-law phoned to ask whether the case had been withdrawn. A few hours later, at about 10pm, Nazmul phoned to say Farzana had taken her own life.

The landlord, Abdul Kader, said Nazmul called him at about 10:30pm and told him of his wife's suicide. Going there, he found Farzana hanging from a ceiling fan. He added that he had previously taken down a body in another suicide case, but Farzana's body struck him as different in some respects from that earlier case. Police then arrived and recovered the body.

Fatullah police sub-inspector Gazi Suman Mahatab said officers found Farzana hanging from a fan at the scene and had taken her husband into custody for questioning. Although the incident initially appeared to be a suicide, he said the true cause of death could not be confirmed until the post-mortem report was available.

Ariful Islam insisted his sister's death was not suicide but a planned murder. He demanded a proper investigation to uncover what really happened.

The incident has caused a stir in the area, and many classmates and acquaintances have expressed grief at the death. The loss of a young life in such circumstances has raised deep questions for the family and the university community.

Police say the post-mortem findings will be examined alongside information from the questioning. Once the report is in hand, the cause of death can be confirmed and further legal steps will follow accordingly.