Dilruba Afroz Sonia, 23, a second year BA student, had been living separated from her husband Morshed Alam Chowdhury alias Khokon for the last two years.

On Thursday evening, while Sonia was returning from the college to her Shyampur residence, Khokon intercepted and forcibly took her to his residence. He beat her up and stabbed three times at her abdomen.

She was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and then shifted to Apollo Hospital where she died yesterday morning.

Mujibur Rahman Ripon, Sonia's maternal uncle, told The Daily Star Sonia and Khokon themselves got married in 2001. Although Sonia's family refused to accept them primarily, later they accepted the couple.

As Khokon was unemployed, Sonia's family gave him around Tk four lakh in installments.

But when he started to beat Sonia occasionally demanding Tk two lakh more, her family took Sonia to them, he said.

Sonia filed a general diary with Shyampur Police Station on December 23 last year in this connection. This made him more furious.

Khokon is absconding since the date of stabbing.