Minarul, who committed suicide with his wife and children due to debt, owes lakhs of taka even on his 40th death anniversary

A 40th death anniversary program was organized in Bamanshikar village of Paba upazila of Rajshahi to commemorate the 40th death anniversary of Minarul Islam (35), his wife Monira Khatun (30), son Mahim (14) and daughter Mithila (3). About 1,000 people were fed rice and murighanta on Saturday (September 13) afternoon. After killing his wife and children due to debt and poverty, Minarul committed suicide on the night of August 14. Before his death, he wrote in a note, ‘We died due to debt and lack of food.’ Minarul’s father Rustam Ali organized the 40th death anniversary of the family, again due to debt. Arrangements were made to seat the guests in two pandals in front and behind the village house. Rice, dal and fish were served murighanta in the afternoon. Relatives and people from distant villages came in vans for the event. Rustam Ali said, “Some call this event Chalisha, some call it Faita. I have been seeing it since my father and grandfather’s time. It is done with people from the community and relatives. I am a poor person, so I could not eat meat. I only made murighantha and dal with fish. The people around said that the house felt heavy due to the four deaths and the small children were scared. So I did this event to dispel their fear. About one lakh rupees were spent on food and drinks.” He added that everything was done on loan. “I do not have any money deposited. I have 15-16 kathas of land. I will sell one katha to repay this loan.” Syed Ali Murshed, chairman of Pabar Parila Union Parishad, said, “I have heard about organising Chalisha. It has no basis in Islam. However, many in this area consider it a custom.”