Sharmin Group MD, son sued over senior merchandiser’s death

The managing director of Sharmin Group and his son have been sued for allegedly abetting the suicide of a senior merchandiser who died after falling from the group's building in Dhaka's Ashulia area yesterday (14 October).

The family, however, suspects it was a planned killing.

Yesterday, 39-year-old Mohammad Jamal Uddin, son of late Sekandar Ali and a resident of the Burulia DUET area of Gazipur Sadar, died after falling from the roof of the group's eight-storey building in Narsinghpur, said Ashulia Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Tarikul Islam.

Jamal's elder brother, Iskandar Ali, filed a case today (15 October) against Sharmin Group Managing Director Ismail Hossain, naming him as the prime accused, his son Sharaf Hossain, a director of the company, and several unnamed individuals over the senior merchandiser's death, the OC confirmed.

According to the complaint, Jamal reported for work at 8am as usual, and his family was informed around 9:30am that he had fallen from the building.

The complaint states that the accused subjected him to mistreatment and mental harassment, driving him to take his own life. It also says he had been distressed by a series of incidents in his division in the days leading up to his death.

Jamal's wife, Sabikun Nahar, said her husband had told her the previous day that there was trouble at the factory and that he feared he might be framed.

"This was planned. They killed him. I want justice," she said.

His elder brother, Iskandar Ali, also alleged that Jamal had been murdered.

"A healthy person cannot go to his factory and commit suicide. If he had wanted to take his own life, he could have done it at home, where he was alone. We want justice," he said.

Jamal's elder brother, Iskandar, told The Business Standard that the family had repeatedly approached police to file a murder case, but officers initially refused, offering to register only an unnatural death case.

He said police eventually accepted the case after he refused to leave the police station without filing it and the incident received media coverage.

He also said that some of the family's allegations had been left out of the complaint.

Iskandar further alleged that Jamal had been physically humiliated in front of colleagues on the morning of his death and forced to perform sit-ups while holding his ears.

The Business Standard tried to contact Ismail Hossain through the mobile number listed on the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) website tonight, but could not obtain his comment as the calls were disconnected.