Md. Mokarram Billah Imon
Returning from Shyamnagar, Satkhira
It was around 11:00 PM. Relatives and local residents were waiting at the river ghat. Moments later, a trawler anchored at the ghat after traversing the dark river route. Mariam Khatun returned to her native village, Gabura in Shyamnagar, Satkhira, from Dhaka aboard that very trawler—but as a lifeless body.
Following the autopsy and legal procedures in Dhaka, Mariam’s body reached Sardarpara under Gabura Union by trawler on Monday night. Upon receiving the news of the arrival of the body of Mariam, the second wife of Satkhira-4 MP Gazi Nazrul Islam, relatives and locals gathered at the riverbank.
From the ghat, the body was taken home, where relatives arranged for the ritual bath (ghusl) and shroud (kafan). Meanwhile, people from neighboring areas began gathering for the funeral prayer (janaza).
Around 12:00 AM, Mariam’s janaza was held beside the Gabura Paschimpara Sardarbari Jame Mosque. Even late at night, a large number of people attended the janaza. Maulana Nurul Huda, a teacher at Nowabeki Biralakshi Kaderia Fazil (Degree) Madrasa, led the prayers.
Following the janaza, Mariam was laid to rest at the family graveyard around 12:40 AM.
Golam Mostafa, member of Ward No. 2 of Gabura Union, said, “Mariam was a very young girl, younger than my own daughter. The entire area is stunned and saddened by her death. The presence of so many people at her janaza even at such a late hour proves how much the local people loved her.”
He asked the countrymen to pray for Mariam.
Maulana Nurul Huda, who led the janaza, said, “Even late at night, local residents joined the janaza. The Satkhira district administration and law enforcement agencies provided full cooperation in bringing Mariam’s body from Dhaka and completing the entire burial process.”
Although Mariam was buried at midnight, the questions surrounding her death remain unresolved. Local residents have demanded a fair investigation into the incident to unearth the actual cause of death.
On Sunday, police recovered Mariam’s hanging body from a flat in the NAM Building in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka. Her body was later sent for an autopsy.
In connection with this incident, Mariam’s father, Masum Billah, filed a case alleging abetment to suicide. Member of Parliament Gazi Nazrul Islam, his first wife Maksuda Begum, and Mariam’s maternal uncle Obaidur Rahman have been named as accused in the case. Police have arrested Gazi Nazrul and Maksuda.
Police are currently investigating the allegations brought in the case and the cause of Mariam’s death.
