A man has allegedly killed his second wife after she refused to accept that he had married her while concealing his first marriage.
As part of his alleged plan, the husband took the second wife out on a sampan on the pretext of a pleasure trip and killed her aboard the boat. He then stuffed her body into a sack and dumped it in a canal, police say.
The killing took place in Chattogram’s Shikalbaha canal around three months ago.
The Police Bureau of Investigation, or PBI, has arrested two people over their alleged involvement in the murder. However, the victim Jannatul Ferdous’s husband, Raja Mia alias Raju, remains at large.
The PBI disclosed details of its investigation at a press conference at its Chattogram Metropolitan office on Thursday afternoon.
Jannatul, 28, was a native of Monki Char Dighir Par village in Shilkup Union of Chattogram’s Banshkhali Upazila. She worked at a shoe factory named Map Shoes Limited in Chandgaon.
She lived with her second husband, Raja Mia alias Raju, and her seven-year-old daughter in a rented home owned by Nasir Uddin in Bepari Para in the Bahir Signal area of Chandgaon.
PBI Chattogram Metro Sub-Inspector Abdur Rahim told bdnews24.com, “Jannatul divorced her first husband three years ago. She married Raju on Sept 4, 2025. At the time of the marriage, Raju claimed that he was unmarried.”
Raju made shopping bags and supplied them to different businesses. His first wife, Ruby Akter, lived at her family home in the Shikalbaha area of Karnaphuli Thana.
MKH Jahangir Hossain, superintendent of police at PBI Chattogram Metro, said: “Not long after the marriage, Jannatul learnt about Raju’s first marriage. This led to a dispute between them. Frustrated by the situation, Raju plotted to kill Jannatul and discussed the plan with his acquaintance Md Muslim Uddin.
“Raju and Muslim Uddin also sought the help of a Kabiraj (traditional healer) in the Kalurghat Bridge area, resorting to spiritual healing and various occult practices. When those methods failed to resolve the matter, Raju Mia finalised his plan to kill Jannatul.”
Police said Raju took Jannatul to the Bridge Ghat area on the other side of the Karnaphuli River on the evening of Jul 28.
Muslim Uddin, another man, and Shukur Ahmad, the brother of Raju’s first wife, were already waiting at the dock with Shukur’s sampan.
They took Jannatul aboard the sampan on the pretext of going for a boat ride and entered the Shikalbaha canal after passing under the Karnaphuli Bridge.
Muslim Uddin was operating the motorised sampan, while Shukur was bailing water from the boat.
After 8pm, Raju got into an argument with Jannatul, snatched her mobile phone and threw it into the canal.
PBI officer Jahangir said: “Raju then covered Jannatul’s mouth while another man took a rope and a sack out of a bag kept on the boat and wrapped the rope around her neck.
“After Jannatul died, Raju and another suspect tied her hands and feet with rope, put the body in a sack and dumped it in the Shikalbaha canal behind S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited in the Kalarpol area.”
Raju and his accomplices then took the boat back to Bridge Ghat and went their separate ways.
On Aug 2, Sadarghat River Police recovered Jannatul’s body after finding it floating in a sack in the Shikalbaha canal near the launch terminal at the Shikalbaha Power Plant. Her hands and feet were tied.
Jannatul’s family identified the body the following day. They suspected Raju as his mobile phone had been switched off.
Jannatul’s mother, Saira Khatun, subsequently filed a murder case naming Raju and several unidentified people as suspects.
The PBI took charge of the investigation on Oct 6.
PBI Chattogram Metro Sub-Inspector Abdur Rahim said investigators tracked down and arrested Muslim Uddin, who had taken shelter in the Teknaf Police Station area, using.
“Based on information provided by him, we arrested another suspect, Shukur Ahmad, and seized the sampan. Muslim Uddin was produced before the court and gave a confessional statement on Oct 14.”
Rahim said operations were continuing to arrest Jannatul’s husband, Raju.
“We have identified another suspect, but we are not disclosing his name or identity at this stage for the sake of the investigation and his arrest.”