Munir Hussain

Background

Munir Hussain was a wealthy industrialist. He killed his wife, Sharmin Rima, on April 9, 1989. The killing was described as the culmination of a long-running affair with his mistress, Hosne Ara Khuku, a middle-aged woman and the wife of a disabled man.

Munir and Sharmin came from prominent families. Munir was the son of Dr. Meherunnessa, a renowned physician. Sharmin was the daughter of a journalist, Nizamuddin Ahmed, who had been killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War by the Al-Badr death squad.

The offence

Munir Hussain killed his wife, Sharmin Rima, on April 9, 1989.

Investigation

The murder investigation and subsequent trial received blanket coverage in the press. Every new revelation was greeted with dramatic headlines, and the details of the case kept the entire nation gripped for months.

Trial

The trial concluded on 21 May 1990. Munir Hussain and Hosne Ara Khuku were both found guilty. Both were condemned to death.

Appeals

In July 1992, an appellate court overturned Hosne Ara Khuku's sentence and acquitted her of all charges. Munir Hussain’s death sentence was upheld in the face of successive legal appeals.

Sentencing

Munir Hussain was sentenced to death on May 21, 1990.

Outcome

Munir Hussain was executed by hanging on either July 3, 1993 or July 27, 1993.

Aftermath

The appellate acquittal of Hosne Ara Khuku in July 1992 and the upheld death sentence for Munir Hussain became widely covered, with the trial described as “T he most sensational criminal trial in contemporary” Bangladeshi history.