Married woman accused of concealing marital status to join Army

A woman in Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur has been accused of concealing her marital status to secure a job as a soldier in the Bangladesh Army, eight years after her marriage.

A police officer has also been accused of showing her as unmarried in a police verification report in exchange for Tk 100,000.

The woman was identified as Afzana Mimi, daughter of Anichur Rahman of Lahani village under Pairaband Union in Mithapukur. Her husband is Khairul Islam, son of Dulu Mia of Sadarupur village in the same union.

According to the allegations, the Army published a recruitment circular for soldier posts on December 4 last year, inviting applications until January 25 this year. Although the circular specified that applicants had to be unmarried, Afzana allegedly concealed her marriage and applied for the position.

After passing the written and oral examinations, she allegedly secured a favourable police verification report through a Tk 100,000 bribe to the investigating officer.

Afzana is currently undergoing training at Ghatail Cantonment in Tangail, according to the report.

Her husband, Khairul Islam, said they were married through a family arrangement in 2018. He said he enrolled her at Hatimara College in Gazipur for higher secondary education after she passed the SSC examination.

He alleged that their marital relationship deteriorated over time and that several mediation attempts failed. In 2023, he brought her back to their village home, where she subsequently stayed at his family residence.

Khairul claimed that she joined the Army without informing him. He said he divorced her on April 8 this year.

However, Afzana’s mother, Rupali Begum, disputed the allegations of bribery and abuse. She said her daughter was married at a young age and had faced mistreatment from her husband.

She claimed that the family had paid Tk 4,000 to the investigating officer in accordance with the rules, not Tk 100,000. She also said there was no kabin-nama (marriage contract) for the marriage and argued that the marriage could not be established through documentary evidence.

Rupali confirmed that her daughter had secured an Army job but said the family had kept the matter private. She also requested that the news not be published.

Afzana’s statement could not be obtained as she is currently undergoing training at Ghatail Cantonment.

When contacted about the allegation against the police officer, Rangpur Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration and Finance) Md Zainal Abedin said police verification was confidential and the identity of the investigating officer could not be disclosed.

He added that he had recently relinquished his additional responsibility at the District Special Branch (DSB) and advised contacting the superintendent of police.

Rangpur Superintendent of Police Mohammad Mozammel Haque said necessary action would be taken following an investigation if a complaint was lodged.