The tale of two women

TWENTY-three year old Jannati Hossain is not a household name. She was a young woman with a passion for cars. Jannati was the unfortunate driver of a vehicle that met with a tragic accident killing her co passenger, who was also her business partner. The co-passenger was not wearing the seat belt that is mandatory for all front seat passengers.  The vehicle Jannati was driving rammed into a police van that was parked off the descent from the Mohakhali flyover that perhaps might not have been there. Perhaps Jannati was driving at high speed and lost control of her vehicle, ramming into the parked vehicle. One doesn't know whether the vehicle was parked in a no-parking zone dangerously close to the descent from the flyover.

Could the accident have been planned to kill Jannati's passenger? Well, the police vehicle, not just any vehicle, was parked where Jannati would descend full speed from the ramp and hit it in a manner that would kill only the passenger and not the driver! Interesting, for Jannati controlled her vehicle so well that it killed only the passenger in the front seat! And why was the passenger without the seat belt? If he were wearing a seat belt he could have been saved. By the reckless act of not putting on the seat belt he was defying the law, or could he, inconceivable as that might have been, have wanted to murder himself? The police filed a case of reckless driving. Months later, Jannati has been sued by the family of the dead man for murder. She has been denied bail and is now languishing behind bars in a jail somewhere in Bangladesh. Even worse, she is probably interned with real murderers and killers.

Jannati's businesses have no doubt taken a dip as she remains behind bars, her business partner is dead, and other partners are absconding because of the murder case filed against all of them as well. They were not in the car at the time of the accident but that does not matter in the case of a planned murder! They are Jannati's business partners. Therefore, they must be involved in the planned murder and are liable as well! They could not be sued as accomplices to murder if it was involuntary manslaughter or murder by negligence. In a country where law can be taken into the hands of a few, people are afraid to remain available for the law to take its own course.

Shamarukh Mohiuddin is not a household name. Reportedly, she might have been murdered but her death could have been staged as a suicide. The burning question being asked is how a more than five feet tall woman could hang herself by the grill of a toilet window where the ceiling is so low. Shamarukh's family has filed a murder case against her husband and in-laws but only the husband has been arrested. The other accused remain free to roam around freely. Shamarukh was a bright young woman who graduated as a doctor only recently. Why would she want to kill herself? She happened to be the daughter-in-law of a former member of parliament.

My layman's understanding of murder is that it is willful killing of a person, innocent or otherwise. It could also be murder by negligence. Again, in my layman's view, willful killing can be of two kinds: pre-mediated or carried out in an act of rage. Other than murder there is the case of manslaughter. Then again there is the case of involuntary manslaughter, which is, killing without intent to kill. One wonders if Shamarukh's death was intentional. There are revelations from her family that point to such a possibility. In such an event it would be “murder.” On the other hand, could Jannati's case be that of a pure accident and therefore it was not a “murder”?

Big dreams of two young women have been blown to pieces, one with a murder case hanging over her head while the other actually being killed. Shamarukh's parents have sued her in-laws for murder, most of whom still roam the streets in complete freedom. In the meantime, Jannati Hossain remains under custody real time. She is only twenty-three years old. Even if she gets reprieve from the charges which, on the face of it sound ludicrous, it will be very difficult if not impossible to get back to her passion. Her life will remain in ruins for a long, long time to come.  

Shamarukh's dreams of becoming a famous doctor have been shattered by death at such a young age. Jannati's opponents are people with influential connections who hope to avenge the death of their boy. They named a long list of witnesses who were not physically present at the accident site at the time of the crash. How can they be called upon to condemn another young life as witnesses to a crime they did not witness? Shamarukh's opponents are influential people too. Their strategy, in all likelihood, would be to have no witnesses at all. Two young women lost in the woods of trammels that may never favour them if the influential get their way.

The writer is a former Ambassador, and Executive Director, Bangladesh Alliance for Women Leadership.