Noakhali: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has unearthed the mystery behind a gruesome double murder in Noakhali and arrested three people in connection with the killings.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the suspects were arrested for allegedly murdering Komola Khatun and her young son Noman in Noakhali nearly two years ago in an attempt to seize their property. CID Special Superintendent of Police Jasim Uddin Khan confirmed the matter today.
Investigators revealed that widow Komola Khatun married Abul Kalam Azad in 2012, and they later had a son, Noman. Following Azad's death around seven to eight years ago, disputes emerged between Komola and Azad's children from his first marriage over family property.
On March 10, 2024, Komola's stepson, Ziaur Rahman Sagor, filed a general diary with Sonaimuri Police Station claiming that Komola had gone missing. Kamala's younger sister, Rahima Begum, filed a case with the Noakhali Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2 on March 14 on suspicion of treachery.
The case was initially assigned to the district Detective Branch (DB) before being transferred to the CID. The investigation disclosed that before his death, Abul Kalam Azad had transferred nearly 30 decimals of land and the family homestead to his second wife Komola and their son Noman, with the property estimated to be worth around Taka 10 million.
CID officials indicated that the children from Azad's first marriage had been pressuring Komola to transfer the property in their names. Further investigation revealed that on February 25, 2024, Komola and her son were threatened and assaulted and had remained missing since then.
A breakthrough in the case occurred when investigators recovered Komola's mobile phone from a house in Dhaka's Sabujbagh area. Based on extensive investigations and technological analysis, CID arrested Saiful Islam Rajon Raju from Mymensingh on May 21. Following his statement, Ziaur Rahman Sagor and his associate Ashikur Rahman Tipu were arrested in the Sonaimuri area.
During remand interrogation, the accused confessed to premeditated plans to occupy the property, including digging a pit near the family pond. On the night of March 1, 2024, sleeping pills were allegedly mixed into Komola and her son's drinking water. Once unconscious, the accused strangled and suffocated them with towels, their hands, and pillows.
To eliminate evidence, the victims' clothes were burned, and the bodies were secretly buried beside the pond. Based on information from the accused, CID conducted a pond excavation on the morning of May 24, recovering the skeletal remains of Komola and Noman in the presence of local representatives, village police, and residents.
After legal formalities, the remains were sent to Noakhali Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy. CID reported that the three arrested suspects have provided confessional statements before a court under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Samples from the remains are being sent for DNA testing, and efforts continue to identify and arrest others involved in the crime.