Man to die for murdering pregnant partner in Rangpur

A Rangpur court on Monday sentenced a man to death for the brutal murder of his pregnant partner and their unborn child in 2023. 

Judge Fazle Khoda Md. Nazir of the Senior District and Sessions Judges Court delivered the verdict, also imposing a fine of Tk 20,000 on the convict.

The convict is identified as Masud Miah, a resident of Monail village in Pirganj upazila of Rangpur.

The victim, Santana Begum, 30, was a garment worker from Bogura. Masud was her co-worker at Ha-Meem Group factory in Ashulia, Dhaka.

According to court proceedings, the duo initially developed a casual acquaintance that eventually turned into a romantic relationship. They later rented a house in Dhaka and cohabited as a married couple. When Santana became pregnant and pressured Masud to formalize their marriage, he evaded the issue and returned to his village in Pirganj.

On July 12, 2023, Santana travelled to Pirganj and arrived at Masud’s home to demand marriage. Masud deceptively promised to marry her and took her to his aunt's house. The following day, under the pretext of taking her to get married, Masud led Santana to an isolated sugarcane field. There, he pinned her down and suffocated her to death. He then repeatedly kicked her abdomen, causing the forced delivery of a stillborn baby girl.

On July 13, 2023, police recovered the semi-decomposed bodies of the woman and the fetus from a sugarcane field beside the Gazi Kha Pittirchara-Rajarampur road. 

Pirganj Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Nazrul Islam initially filed an unidentified murder case.

 Following an investigation, RAB apprehended Masud from Taraganj in Gazipur, where he subsequently gave a confessional statement.

The court reached its decision after evaluating the testimonies of 14 witnesses. 

Public Prosecutor Aftab Uddin expressed satisfaction with the verdict, calling it a landmark definition of justice, while defense counsel Sultan Ahmed Shaheen stated they plan to appeal the ruling.

TZ