Death of Sheuli: 'Pushed off running bus by co-worker'

Sheuli Begum

The garment worker, whose body was found last month on Dhaka-Tangail highway in Mirzapur, was shoved off a moving bus in broad daylight by her colleague, the driver said in his confessional statement.

Sheuli Begum, 28, was struggling protect herself from being sexually assaulted by her neighbour and co-worker Arif Miah, 35, minutes before she was pushed off the vehicle.

Bus driver Ruhul Amin told a magistrate that Arif got down from the vehicle the moment he stopped it, Afsar Uddin Khan, additional superintendent of police in Tangail, told reporters at Mirzapur Police Station on Thursday night.

Moments later, the driver then saw in the rear-view mirror Arif dragging the woman's body on the road and drove away, the ASP said quoting the confessional statement.

The mother of two died at the scene from head injuries, said AKM Mizanul Haque, officer-in-charge of Mirzapur Police Station.

Ashikuzzaman, senior judicial magistrate of a Tangail court, sent Ruhul to jail after recording his confessional statement and placed his younger brother and assistant Sohel Rana and Arif on a three-day remand, the OC said.

Sheuli Begum, 28, and Arif, 35, were residents of Charpara village of Mirzapur.  They worked at Comfit Composite Knit Ltd in the upazila.

They boarded the bus at Charpara around 7:15am on July 26 to go to work. They were the only passengers in the bus, the ASP said.

Arif tried to grope Sheuli right after they boarded the vehicle, the officer added.

Although Sheuli struggled to protect herself and screamed, Ruhul kept driving. At one point during the scuffle, Arif pushed her off the bus, he said.

Her body was recovered by Gorai Highway Police.

Her husband Sharif Hossain filed a case three days later with Mirzapur Police Station accusing unidentified criminals.

Mirzapur police later seized the bus and arrested its staff in Ashulia area on August 6. Arif was arrested the next day, the ASP added.