Munira Khatun married to 25-year-old Zia Munshi for barely four months, was hit with a wood log by her husband after a heated argument between them over dowry turned violent on Friday, police said.

Quoting local people, a sub-inspector of Babukhali police camp, said that the couple used to fight often as Zia was demanding dowry from the first day of marriage.

Arif Mollah, father of the woman, alleged that Zia used to torture her daughter for dowry since their marriage. "On Friday morning, Zia had called me to take our daughter back home."

Also read: Dowry culture still thrives in Bangladesh; Ctg woman the latest victim

"We have recovered the body and sent it to the local hospital morgue for an autopsy," said Tarek Biswas, officer-in-charge of Mohammadpur Police Station.

Efforts are on to nab Zia, he added.

Also read: Housewife killed for ‘dowry’ in Chattogram

Dowry is one of the most common forms of gender-based discrimination in Bangladesh. Every year thousands of women face serious social, psychological and physical tortures due to dowry-related disputes.

According to Odhikar, a human rights body, 5,699 women faced dowry-related violence from 2001 to 2017 and the rate of homicides and suicides due to dowry was also high during the period.

Also read: Husband awarded death penalty for killing wife for dowry

Odhikar stated that at least 256 women faced dowry-related violence while 129 women were killed or took their own lives in 2017.

The amended Dowry Prohibition Act 2017 stipulates penalties of five years in jail and Tk 50,000 in fine for demanding, receiving and giving dowry.

Also read: Woman ‘kills self’ to escape ‘torture for dowry’ in Magura

In the old law, the punishment for demanding, giving or receiving dowry was a minimum one-year prison term and a maximum of five years in jail or up to Tk 5,000 fines or both.