A Dhaka court on Monday placed Satkhira-4 MP and expelled Jamaat-e-Islami leader, Gazi Nazrul Islam, and his first wife, Maksuda Begum, on four-day remand and one-day remand, respectively on charges the couple drove the lawmaker’s second wife to commit suicide.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ehsanul Islam issued the remand orders after the police sought seven-day remand each for the couple.

During the hearing, Public Prosecutor (PP) Omar Faruq Faruqi of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judges’ Court presented arguments in favor of the remand on behalf of the State.

He stated that Mariam Khatun was forced into marrying Gazi Nazrul through allurements offered to her maternal uncle, Obaidur Rahman, and the exertion of power. Later, she was taken to various residential hotels, an incident that also led to a lawsuit.

The PP said that Gazi Nazrul, 74, lived with Mariam, 19, at his residence in the NAM building.

His first wife, Maksuda Begum, 65, also lived in the same house. In a handwritten letter recovered from the scene, Mariam mentioned being subjected to physical and mental abuse.

Omar Faruq Faruqi noted that although the case was filed for abetment of suicide, whether there was a murder plot behind it remains a matter of investigation. The PP requested the defendants be remanded to uncover the actual truth.

On the other hand, defense lawyers including Md Mahbubur Rahman, representing Gazi Nazrul Islam and Maksuda Begum applied for bail while requesting the cancellation of the remand.

They argued in court that there was no logical basis for a remand. Gazi Nazrul is a freedom fighter and a four-time Member of Parliament. No specific grounds were presented in the case to justify interrogating them under remand. Both individuals are elderly and will cooperate with the investigation; therefore, the remand should be canceled and bail granted, Md Mahbubur Rahman told the court.