Expat's body found in Dhaka flat, suspect flees to Canada
A handwritten note found beside the body claimed self-defence against rape and blackmail.
Police are investigating the murder of Ariful Islam, a 27-year-old Japan-based expatriate, whose body was found in a studio flat in Dhaka's Basundhara neighbourhood on 1 June.
A handwritten note found beside the body claimed self-defence against rape and blackmail.
The note accuses Ariful of being a rapist and blackmailer, saying, "He surrendered himself to me of his own will. I made my peace by killing this rapist and blackmailer with my own hands."
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Police identified the suspect as Parveen Akhtar, 33, a Canada-based expatriate previously acquainted with Ariful. The pair reportedly rented the flat together on 17 May, posing as husband and wife. Security footage shows them entering the flat, with Parveen leaving alone the following morning.
Fourteen days later, on Saturday evening, the property management company, Maati Properties, informed police of a body in the flat. The victim was identified through technological means. The body was found decomposed with cuts to the throat and chest.
Police believe Parveen may have killed Ariful sometime on the night of 17 May before leaving for Canada on a Kuwait Airways flight the following day. Immigration police confirmed her departure.
Rajan Kumar Saha, assistant commissioner of the Badda zone of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Gulshan division, confirmed Parveen's flight to Canada and said authorities will initiate legal proceedings to bring her back for questioning.
Further investigation revealed a complex web of relationships. An official notary document recovered from Ariful's body showed the couple had been secretly married in December 2021. However, Parveen was also married to a Canada-based expatriate, Nazmul Islam Babu, 33.
Safriza Akter, Ariful's sister, filed a murder case against Parveen, Nazmul, the owner, manager, and employees of Maati Properties, along with several others.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), after marrying Ariful in 2021, Parveen moved to Canada with Nazmul. Meanwhile, Ariful moved to Japan and married a Japanese woman named Nachuki.
The FIR claims Parveen became enraged upon learning of the marriage and threatened Ariful on multiple occasions. It further alleges Parveen and Nazmul lured Ariful to Dhaka from Japan with the intention of killing him.
Safriza Akter said, "Parveen and her husband planned the murder. Parveen, involved in various local crimes, lured him and killed him in cold blood." ***
