Shimu murder: Husband, his friend indicted

A Dhaka court framed charges on Tuesday against husband and his friend in connection with murder of film actress Raima Islam Shimu.

Mohammad Shafikul Islam, judge of Additional District and Sessions Court-4 of Dhaka, framed the charges against Shimu’s husband Sakhawat Ali Noble and SM Farhad.

The investigation officer, Shahidul Islam, an inspector from Keraniganj police, submitted charges to the court in August.

Shimu’s dismembered body was in sacks near a bridge at Keraniganj on January 17

The victim’s brother Shahidul Islam Khokon identified the body at the Mitford Hospital and started a case against six people, including Noble and his friend Farhad.

The 40-year-old actor, who lived with her husband and two children in Dhaka’s Green Road, did not return home after going out on Jan 16 and Nobel filed a general diary with Kalabagan police the following day.

Police found the body hidden in a sack on the side of a road near Aliapur in the Hazratpur Bridge area of Keraniganj that day. Police arrested Nobel and his childhood friend Farhad that night.

Police said Shimu and Nobel were experiencing “marital strife” over a range of family issues, leading Nobel to kill her and hide the body with Farhad’s help.

Shimu made her film debut in Kazi Hayat’s film ‘Bartaman’ in 1998. She starred in 25 films with noted directors, including Delwar Jahan Jhantu, Chashi Nazrul Islam, and Sharifuddin Khan Dipu.

An associate member of the Bangladesh Film Artistes Association, Shimu also worked on TV drama projects.