A court in Lalpur upazila of Natore has sentenced a woman to life imprisonment and a man to five years in prison for selling heroin, marking one of the district’s more severe drug-related verdicts in recent years.
The verdict was delivered on Wednesday afternoon by Additional District and Sessions Judge Md. Rezaul Karim, in the presence of both accused, according to Public Prosecutor Md. Abdul Kader. The convicted are Hasina Begum (39), wife of Shawkat Thandar, and Helal Uddin (32), son of Nahid Uddin, both residents of Moharkaya Purba Para in Lalpur.
According to case details, police conducted a raid on June 15, 2020, during which Hasina was arrested with 30 grams of heroin, while Helal was found with 10 grams. A case was filed under the Narcotics Control Act, and SI Mohammad Fazluk Haque later submitted the charge sheet to the court that July.
After examining witnesses and evidence, the court sentenced Hasina Begum to life imprisonment and a fine of Tk 10,000, with an additional year of imprisonment if unpaid. Helal Uddin was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 10,000, with an additional year’s imprisonment for non-payment.
The ruling comes amid ongoing national efforts to curb drug trafficking, which continues to disproportionately affect low-income rural communities, often drawing women into dangerous networks of exploitation and punishment.
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