Death of College Girl: Her diaries hold vital evidence

Six diaries of the college student found dead in a Gulshan flat on Monday contain crucial evidence supporting the allegations against Bashundhara Group Managing Director Sayem Sobhan Anvir of abetting suicide, police said.

"The victim's utter frustration and mental breakdown are reflected in her diaries, which we have seized. Her writings will be important evidence," Sudip Chakrabarty, deputy commissioner (Gulshan division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told reporters yesterday.

Meanwhile, the victim's elder sister, who filed a case with Gulshan Police Station under section 306 of Bangladesh Penal Code on Tuesday, said she received threatening calls from unknown people asking her to withdraw the case against Anvir or suffer the same fate as her sister.

In another development, the accused Bashundhara MD sought anticipatory bail from the High Court. The bail petition has been included in the cause list for hearing today.

Sudip Chakrabarty said, "... she [the victim] wrote [in the diary] about their relationship, the social barriers to recognition of the relationship, her expectation of a happy conjugal life with the accused and the barriers from his family."

She detailed her serious frustration in her diaries and these will be the key to establishing the case, he said.

Police collected CCTV footage from the building, information from the victim's phones, and other circumstantial evidence.

"Through proper analysis of the evidence, we will be able to create an important dimension in the investigation," the DC said.

Police are looking forward to receiving the post-mortem report as early as possible because it might determine the cause of death, the DC said, adding that officers were also awaiting the results of the DNA and forensic tests.

"We need all the evidence to prove the case when we submit the investigation report to court."

The police will think about arresting the accused after getting all the necessary evidence, he said.

"We are all trying to ensure justice for the victim and there is no pressure on police about the investigation."

The incident caused a stir in the country and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan yesterday told reporters at his Dhanmondi residence: "Whoever commits a crime will face the law. The incident is under investigation. We will share the details after the investigation is complete."

A Dhaka court issued a travel ban on Anvir after the police submitted a petition seeking a directive in this regard.

Police on Monday night recovered the body of the college student of Cumilla at a rented flat in Gulshan.

The following day, her sister sued the Bashundhara Group MD Anvir for abetting her death by suicide.

According to the complaint, Anvir developed a relationship with the victim, aged 21 at the time of her death, and promised to marry her.

Security guards of the building in Gulshan told police that the accused used to visit her flat, where she lived by herself.

The complainant told The Daily Star yesterday that her sister called her in tears on April 25, saying that Anvir would not marry her and that she was in trouble and an accident could happen any time.

The victim's elder sister said after arriving in Dhaka from Cumilla the following day and breaking the lock on the door of the flat, she found her sister's body hanging from the ceiling fan.

"I filed the case over instigating suicide against Anvir based on what I saw and what my sister had told me. Whether it was a murder or an instance of abetting suicide will be revealed by the law enforcement agencies after a proper investigation," she said.

According to the complaint, in 2019, Anvir took the victim to a rented flat in the capital's Banani where they started living together.

Last year, Anvir's family came to know about his relationship with the woman and his mother threatened the victim with dire consequences, asking her to leave Dhaka, the complainant said in the FIR.

THREATS

The victim's elder sister, who filed the case, told The Daily Star yesterday that she received several calls from various unknown numbers since Tuesday night.

"Some of the callers threatened me with similar consequences faced by my sister if I didn't withdraw the case," she said.

She provided two of the phone numbers from which she received the threatening calls. These correspondents called the numbers several times yesterday but found both switched off.

According to the complainant, the callers used abusive words and told her that she had filed a case against the Bashundhara MD for monetary gains.

The complainant said she informed the matter to the police station of her hometown.

Meanwhile, Sharun Chowdhury, son of Awami League lawmaker and parliament whip Shamsul Haque Chowdhury, told The Daily Star that a screenshot of his conversation with the victim that has gone viral on social media was fake.

"It's a fake screenshot. There was no date in the conversation. I requested the law enforcement agencies to conduct a digital forensic examination of the screenshot. I never met her [the victim] or had any conversation with her," he said over the phone, adding that he had not been contacted by law enforcement about the issue.

"Anvir has a personnel enmity with me… Bashundhara Group is trying to divert the issue by spreading the fake screenshot. I urge the law enforcement agencies to do a proper probe," he said.

ANVIR SEEKS ANTICIPATORY BAIL

Anvir sought anticipatory bail from the High Court through his lawyers, Supreme Court lawyer Sayed Ahmed Raza told The Daily Star.

The bail petition has been included as item No 14 in the cause list of the bench of Justice Mamnoon Rahman and Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman for hearing today.

Contacted, Deputy Attorney General Md Tahirul Islam said his office was yet to receive a copy of the petition as of 8:25pm last night.

Anvir must appear before the HC bench for anticipatory bail during the hearing, he added.

PROTESTS

The central committee of Amra Muktijoddhar Shantan in a statement yesterday demanded a judicial probe into the incident to find out whether it was a suicide or a planned murder.

Signed by the organisation's President Sazzad Hossain and General Secretary Rashedul Shahin, the statement demanded fair trial and punishment of the culprit.