5 remanded over severed body recovery in Sabujbagh

A Dhaka court today (22 August) placed five suspects on a four-day remand for questioning in connection with the murder and dismemberment of a 19-year-old woman in the capital’s Sabujbagh area.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Manjurul Islam issued the order following a hearing after police produced the accused before the court seeking a 10-day remand, according to the prosecution division.

The remanded individuals are Nusrat Jahan Sahida, 19, Faruk alias Jamai Faruk, 45, Md Sujon, 20, Md Mamun, 20, and Md Rafi Islam alias Bangi, 19.

According to the remand petition, police received information around 9am on 6 August that the severed head of an unidentified woman and her two hands, wrapped in polythene, had been left beneath a bridge beside a cattle farm in the Baganbari Kalvert area of Sabujbaghh.

Police recovered the head and both hands of the woman, who was estimated to be around 20 years old.

Using information technology, investigators later identified the victim as Shuraiya Akter alias Falani, 19.

Her parents identified the remains after seeing photographs of the severed head and tattoos on both hands, according to the case documents.

Meanwhile, the first information report reads that the police collected and analysed CCTV footage from the crime scene and surrounding areas.

The footage showed the victim, the arrested suspects and several unidentified people staying together for an extended period on Baganbari Kalvert around 9:30pm on 3 August, the investigation found.

The suspects allegedly took the victim to an unidentified location, after which she was not seen again, according to the case documents.

Police said that around 12:20am on 4 August, Faruk and the other accused, excluding the victim, along with unidentified individuals, again stayed on Baganbari Kalvert for an extended period before leaving.

Based on preliminary investigation, analysis of digital information, questioning of local witnesses, the suspects’ previous conduct and the circumstances surrounding the incident, police said they found evidence indicating that the five were involved in the killing.

The suspects were subsequently arrested.

The remand petition said the accused needed to be interrogated to identify others involved in the murder, determine their whereabouts and addresses, and arrest them.