Lalmonirhat: A 48-year-old woman, estranged from her husband, was found dead at a house in Aditmari upazila of Lalmonirhat on Sunday morning, with police suspecting that she may have been raped and later strangulated to death.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the deceased was identified as Swapna Begum, daughter of the late Nazmul Hossain of Dakkhin Tari village under Durgapur union. Police recovered the body from a house belonging to her brother-in-law, which was adjacent to her father's home.
Locals and police reported that Swapna had been separated from her husband for around 20 years and had been living in Dhaka, although she occasionally visited her village home. She returned from Dhaka four days prior to the incident. As no one was staying at her brother-in-law Nannu Sarkar's house, she had been staying there alone.
Police stated that Swapna went to sleep there on Saturday night. When relatives received no response from her on Sunday morning, they entered the house after finding the gate open and discovered her body. They subsequently informed police.
The police recovered the body and sent it to Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy. Locals suspected that the attackers raped her before strangling her.
Officer-in-Charge of Aditmari Police Station, Nazmul Haque, said that police are investigating the incident to determine the motive behind the killing and identify those involved. "Legal action will be taken after the investigation," he added.