In a horrific coincidence, two men killed their wives and dumped the bodies in similar ways in Satkhira and Gazipur.
In both cases, the men made fictitious claims regarding their wives’ absence, after strangling them and hiding their bodies inside septic tanks.
The murders, however, have taken place months apart, according to police.
In Satkhira, Shahidul Islam strangled his second wife Marufa Begum, 35, to death and dumped her body in the septic tank of their house at Sonatola village under Dakkhin Sreepur union in Kaliganj upazila on November 17, police said.
Two days later, he filed a general diary at Kaliganj police station, saying his wife has gone missing, confirmed the station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Delwar Hussain.
Delwar said: “Shahidul confessed killing his wife and hiding the body during questioning after we detained him prior to the recovery of the body.”
Local sources, referring to rumours, said Shahidul may have killed his wife over suspicion that Marufa was involved in an extramarital affair.
The murder came to light on Wednesday morning, after locals became suspicious when a bad odour from Marufa’s decomposed body started coming from the septic tank.
They detained Shahidul and called police soon after.
Police later recovered the body and sent it to a local hospital’s morgue for autopsy.
In Gazipur, police recovered the decomposed body of housewife Farida Khatun, 42, from a septic tank in the Kalampur Khajardek area under the Kaliakair upazila on Wednesday morning, two and a half months after she went missing.
Farida was the third wife of Mansur Ali, 57, caretaker of late Atabuddin Dewan’s farmhouse. They also lived in a tin-shed on the farmhouse’s land.
Kalikair police station’s OC Alamgir Hossain Majumder said Mansur strangulated his wife and hid the body in the septic tank of the farmhouse on the night of August 18.
Later, he told people that his wife had eloped.
Farida’s family suspected he was lying as Mansur and Farida have been going through a spate of marital discord for a while. Apart from beating her, Mansur had also threatened to kill Farida, claimed her family and neighbours.
Her younger sister Harisa Khatun filed an abduction case with the Kaliakoir police on November 4, prompting Mansur and his first wife Rekha Khatun to flee with their children.
Two days later, police arrested Rekha, 45, and their son Swapan Mia, 20.
Based on their information, Mansur was arrested from a house in the Shimulia area at Ashulia in the early hours of Wednesday.
Police and Fire Service and Civil Defence personnel recovered Farida’s body from the septic tank on Wednesday morning after Mansur confessed to his crimes, OC Alamgir said.
The body was later sent to the Shaheed Tazuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.
The police official also added that Khodeza Aktar, 37, widow of Atab Uddin and current owner of the farmhouse, was also arrested Wednesday morning for her alleged involvement in the murder.