A Dhaka court yesterday gave life imprisonment to a physician and his extramarital partner for killing his wife in the capital's Mirpur six years ago.
The lifers--Dr Tozammel Hossain, 62, an associate professor at the National Institute of Traumatology, Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation (Nitor), and his partner Shamsunnahar alias Nargis, 58,--killed the woman for trying to hinder their relationship.  
Police recovered the body of Fahmida Akhter Nazma, 45, the physician's wife, from the bathroom of her residence in Mirpur-2 on July 7, 2008, after her husband informed police of having returned home to find her dead.
Her face was burnt, legs fractured, tendons of the legs severed, and hands tied behind the back, according to police.
Judge Md Abdul Majid of the District and Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka handed down the sentence in presence of the lifers in a packed courtroom.
In his observations, the judge said the accused in collusion with each other killed the victim in cold blood and in a planned way, and that they deserved the death penalty but were given life imprisonment because of their old ages.
The victim's brother, Mehedi Hasan, had filed the murder case.
According to the prosecution, Nazma got married to Tozammel in 1996, and he tortured her every now and then over trifling matters for her protest against the extramarital affairs.
In June 2002, Nazma had filed a general diary with police accusing her husband of the tortures.