Sharmin murder case explained

The Sharmin murder case was a notorious criminal case in Bangladesh. Munir Hussain, a wealthy industrialist, killed his wife of four months, Sharmin Rima, on the night of 8/9 April 1989. It was the culmination of a long-running affair with his mistress Hosne Ara Khuku,^[1] a middle-aged married woman.^[2]

Both Munir and Sharmin came from prominent families—Munir was the son of Dr. Meherunnessa, a renowned physician, and Sharmin was the daughter of a journalist, Nizamuddin Ahmed, who had been killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War by the Al-Badr paramilitary.^[3]

Munir killed Sharmin along the Chittagong-Dhaka highway, and dumped her body near Mijmizi village in Narayanganj District. He was arrested the following day.^[4]

The murder investigation and the subsequent trial was widely covered in the press, with every new revelation generating dramatic headlines over the course of several months.

The trial concluded on 21 May 1990. Munir and Khuku were both found guilty and sentenced to death. Two years later, in July 1992, an appellate court overturned Khuku's sentence and acquitted her of all charges. Munir's death sentence was upheld throughout several legal appeals and mercy petitions. He was hanged on 27 July 1993.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Book: Rabia Bhuiyan . Aspects of Violence Against Women . 1991 . Institute of Democratic Rights . 28–29 . 26098891 . On Saturday midnight, April 8th, 1989, on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, [Sharmin Hossain] Rima was murdered ... the accused Munir [Hossain] injured his wife severely with a sharp weapon and then dragged her body inhumanly and threw her in a deserted drain ... about co-accused Hosne-ara-Khuku, ... because of her affairs with Munir ....
2. World Briefs: Man hanged for murdering wife . 22 . 14 . 1–15 August 1993 . Democratic World . 14 . Before his marriage, Munir had an affair with Hosne Ara Khuku, a middle-aged housewife. Munir murdered his wife Rima just after four months of their marriage as Rima opposed her husband's extra-marital affairs..
3. Web site: http://newsfeed.charpoka.org/2019/02/28/sharmin-rima-murder-case/. bn:রীমা হত্যা : যে হত্যাকাণ্ড নাড়িয়ে দিয়েছিলো পুরো দেশ. 2019-02-28. Newsfeed. bn. 2019-05-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20190304095033/http://newsfeed.charpoka.org/2019/02/28/sharmin-rima-murder-case/. 2019-03-04.
4. News: bn:রীমা হত্যার সেই মনির . That Monir of Rima's murder . https://www.bd-pratidin.com/various/2013/12/15/32246 . Bangladesh Pratidin . 15 December 2013 . bn.
5. Web site: bn . . bn:শারমিন রীমা হত্যা . Sharmin Rima killed . BBC Bangla . 2 March 2012 . 2 May 2016.