For almost a day, the story remained intact: Bangladeshi actress Raima Islam Shimu had left home for a shoot at 7 am on January 16, 2022, and disappeared.
Her phone went unanswered. She never reached the location. By the following morning, two missing-person reports had been filed.
Then police found a sack in the bushes near a bridge outside Dhaka.
Inside was Raima’s body, cut into two pieces.
The investigation initially reached into Bangladesh’s film industry and drew a prominent actor into questioning. But the clue that changed everything was found much closer to home.
It was waiting inside the family car.
From Theatre To The Big Screen
Raima Islam Shimu was a familiar face in Bangladesh’s entertainment industry, although details about her early life remain limited. Even her year of birth has been reported differently. The Daily Star listed it as 1977, while Bengali daily Jugantar stated that she was born in 1987.
Raima began her career in theatre before attracting the attention of National Award-winning filmmaker Kazi Hayat. Impressed by her talent, he cast her in Bartaman, which was released in 1998 and marked her film debut.
She went on to appear in around 25 Bangladeshi films until 2002. Raima also remained active on stage, reportedly performing in nearly 50 plays, and became a recognised face on television.
Her final film, Jamai Sashur, was released in 2002.
Marriage And A Life Behind The Camera
While working in the entertainment industry, Raima met Dhaka businessman Shakhawat Ali Nobel. They fell in love and married in 2004.
Raima stepped away from films after marriage but continued working in television. She produced several programmes, established her own production house and worked in the marketing department of a private television channel.
The couple had two children and lived in Dhaka’s Green Road area.
From the outside, Raima appeared to have settled into a quieter life away from cinema. What investigators later uncovered inside that home told a very different story.
The Sunday Morning She Disappeared
January 16, 2022, was a Sunday.
According to Shakhawat, Raima left home at around 7 am after saying that she had to attend a shoot.
But she never arrived.
As the hours passed, Raima’s sister Fatima Nisha repeatedly tried calling her. There was no response. Fatima eventually contacted Shakhawat and asked if he knew where her sister was.
“She left for shooting at 7 a.m. and hasn’t been heard from since. She hasn’t even reached the shooting location she was supposed to be at,” he told her.
Raima did not return that night.
On the morning of January 17, Fatima went to the police and filed a missing-person report. Shakhawat later lodged another report at Kalabagan police station.
At that point, there was no body and no apparent crime scene. Only a missing actress who seemed to have vanished on her way to work.
Then came the call from Keraniganj.
A Sack Near Hazratpur Bridge
Residents had noticed a suspicious sack lying in bushes near Hazratpur Bridge. When police reached the spot and opened it, they discovered the body of a woman.
It had been cut into two pieces and bore multiple injuries.
The remains were sent to Mitford Hospital for an autopsy. Raima’s brother, Shahidul Islam, was called to identify the body.
The search was over. The murder investigation had begun.
Police questioned Raima’s relatives, colleagues and others connected to her professional life. One name immediately attracted attention.
Actor Zayed Khan Questioned
Bangladeshi actor Zayed Khan’s name surfaced during the early stages of the investigation.
Raima and Zayed had reportedly fallen out years earlier over membership in the Bangladesh Film Artistes Association. Investigators questioned him about their dispute and whether he had recently been in contact with her.
Zayed said he had last spoken to Raima approximately two years earlier and had not remained in touch with her.
The lead went nowhere.
Investigators returned to the people who had seen Raima before she disappeared. They questioned Shakhawat and the housekeeper, both of whom repeated the same account: Raima had left home for a shoot at 7 am.
But something about the family car raised suspicion.
The Smell Of Bleach
The vehicle was used by both Raima and her husband. When investigators opened it, they noticed a strong smell inside.
Police suspected that bleaching powder had been used in an attempt to clean the vehicle and remove evidence.
Then they found a bundle of nylon rope.
The sack containing Raima’s body had also been stitched shut with nylon rope. Investigators began examining whether the material found inside the car was connected to the rope used on the sack.
The possibility was chilling. The family vehicle may have been used to transport Raima’s body to Keraniganj.
The story about her leaving for a shoot was beginning to collapse.
Six People Taken Into Custody
Police detained six suspects, including Shakhawat and his friend SMY Abdullah Farhad. They were placed on remand for questioning.
Investigators said Shakhawat initially gave different accounts of what had happened on the morning of January 16.
Under sustained questioning, according to police, he eventually confessed to killing his wife.
Raima, investigators alleged, had never left home for a shoot.
What Allegedly Happened At 7 AM
According to the police account, Raima and Shakhawat became involved in an argument at around 7 am, the same time he later claimed she had left the house.
The confrontation escalated. Shakhawat allegedly assaulted Raima before strangling her.
He then reportedly called Farhad to the house and told him what had happened. Rather than informing the police, Farhad allegedly agreed to help conceal the killing and dispose of the body.
There was another person inside the house: the family’s housekeeper.
According to investigators, Shakhawat sent him outside to buy breakfast.
Once the housekeeper was gone, the two men allegedly cut Raima’s body into pieces, placed the remains inside a sack and stitched it shut with nylon rope.
They then carried the sack to the family car and hid it inside the boot.
The First Attempt Failed
Shakhawat and Farhad reportedly drove out that afternoon, intending to dispose of the body.
But it was still daylight. Fearing that they would be seen, they allegedly abandoned the attempt and returned home with the sack still inside the vehicle.
At around 9 pm, the two men reportedly set out again.
This time, they drove towards Keraniganj, searching for an isolated place. They eventually reached the area around Hazratpur Bridge.
Approximately 300 metres from the bridge, police said, they dumped the sack in the bushes and returned to Dhaka.
The following morning, Shakhawat went to the police station and reported his wife missing.
By then, residents had already found the sack.
A Marriage Marked By Violence
As investigators examined the couple’s life, they uncovered allegations of a deeply troubled marriage.
Shakhawat had reportedly struggled with depression and become increasingly suspicious of Raima. He allegedly accused her of having an affair and frequently assaulted her.
The COVID-19 pandemic placed the family under further financial pressure. Raima’s television work was disrupted when shooting stopped, while Shakhawat reportedly suffered significant losses in his business.
When work resumed, Raima became the family’s primary source of income. The financial strain and conflict between the couple allegedly intensified.
Months before her death, Raima had reportedly filed a domestic violence complaint against her husband.
She also frequently spoke to her sister about the problems in her marriage. Despite the alleged abuse and her unhappiness, she remained in the relationship.
The Call From Police Custody
A few days after the murder, police questioned Raima and Shakhawat’s daughter, Ojia Aleem Rid.
She reportedly told investigators that her father frequently assaulted her mother.
Her statement also contained one of the case’s most disturbing details.
After allegedly confessing to the murder, Shakhawat called his daughter from police custody. According to her account, he apologised for killing her mother.
For almost a day, the account of Raima leaving for a shoot had given the alleged killers time to pose as people searching for her.
But the attempt to erase what had happened created its own trail.
The bleach left a smell. The rope remained in the car. And the vehicle parked outside Raima’s home led investigators back to the place where her final journey had begun.
