DB (Gulshan division) deputy commissioner Mashiur Rahman told Prothom Alo, “Digital forensic evidence coupled with the deposition of the accused and the witnesses confirmed that Elma Chowdhury committed suicide as she could not bear the torture and her husband Iftekhar Abedin, mother-in-law Shirin Amin and father-in-law Md Amin.”

Saiful Islam Chowdhury, father of Elma Chowdhury, told Prothom Alo on 9 April though he has been informed of the progress on the investigation, he still believes that her daughter’s husband and in-laws orchestrated the suicide after killing her. If the DB files charge sheet stating her daughter’s death a suicide, he will file a motion in court rejecting this, Saiful Islam added.

Twenty-six-year-old Elma Chowdhury died on 14 December 2021 three days after her expatriate husband Iftekher Abedin, 35, returned to the country from Canada. Her body bore injury marks.

A day after the death of Elma Chowdhury, her father Saiful Islam Chowdhury filed a murder case with the capital’s Banani police station accusing his daughter’s husband Iftekhar Abedin, mother-in-law Shirin Amin and father-in-law Md Amin of killing Elma.

According to the case statement, Elma Chowdhury fell sick severely on 14 December 2021 and she was taken to United Hospital in Gulshan. When her father, mother and uncle arrived in the hospital around 5:00pm, they saw Elma Chowdhury’s body lying on a trolley and her husband Iftekhar Abedin and father-in-law Md Amin standing next to it and they were not behaving normally.

Saiful Islam alleged that Iftekhar Abedin and his parents wanted to stop Elma Chowdhury’s studies after marriage. As she refused to stop studying, they even cut her hair and used to torture her for various household work.

Referring to the first inquest report, Siaful Islam in the case statement said there were blackish marks of injury on Elma’s nose, upper lip, neck, chin, right side of her back, two hands and two legs. Her left ear also bore hit marks and there were injuries on the fingers and toes.

Farhana Yesmin, lecture of forensic medicine and toxicology at Dhaka Medical College, conducted the autopsy on the body of Elma Chowdhury. She noted that it seemed Elma Chowdhury committed suicide and she died of hanging but her body bore many hit marks.

Banani police arrested Elma Chowdhury’s husband Iftekhar Abedin after his death. The DB was tasked with investigating the case later and Iftekhar Abedin was placed to remand for times. The DB also collected autopsy report and other evidences as part of the investigation.

Iftekhar Abedin first married when he was in France and he has daughter from that marriage. He separated from his first wife in 2020. Iftekhar Abedin got acquainted with Elma Chowdhury online and eight days later, they got married on 2 April 2021. After that, he went to Canada and promised he would take Elma there later.

The DB probe learned Iftekhar Abedin went to Canada two months after he married Elma. He returned to Bangladesh on 11 December 2021. The couple did not trust each other. They had a scuffle on the night of 13 December and Elma tried to leave her husband’s house but Iftekhar locked all exit of the house. At one stage, Elam broke a photo frame and tried to slit her own throat but Iftekher then beat her indiscriminately.

The next morning, they had a fight again. Elma then said she no longer wants to stay with Iftekhar. So, Iftekhar left their bedroom and he returned 10 minutes later and found the door of the room locked. When their housemaid tried to open the door they found it locked from inside. Later, Iftekhar along with his father and their driver tried to break the door. Later they opened it with an axe and found Elam hanging with a scarf from the celling fan. Iftekhar then held her while the housemaid cut the scarf. Then then took Elam to the United Hospital where physicians pronounced her dead.

This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Hasanul Banna