Hired labourers kill elderly woman in Cumilla, loot cash, gold

An elderly woman has been found strangled to death in Cumilla’s Chandina, with allegations that hired paddy harvesting labourers committed the crime and fled with cash and gold ornaments.

Police recovered the body from her home this morning (3 May). An investigation is underway.

The deceased, Samiran Begum, 68, was the wife of Abdul Baten Molla of Alipur village in Shuhilpur union under Chandina upazila.

Police said she had been strangled while asleep.

According to locals, four labourers were hired on 27 April from a labour market in the Cumilla Cantonment area to harvest paddy.

Yesterday, one of the labourers reportedly fled with a mobile phone belonging to the family. Later that night, the remaining labourers brought in another person.

The labourers were staying in a room in the house, while Samiran slept in a separate room and her husband in another.

Bashir Molla, the son of the deceased, said, “Every day, my mother would wake up early for Fajr prayers, and the labourers would also start work early. This morning, we found that the labourers were gone. In the next room, we saw my mother lying on the bed with her hands and feet tied and a cloth wrapped around her neck. We started shouting, and neighbours came.”

He said the family did not know the identities of the labourers, as they had not disclosed their names, though they had mentioned that they were from Chandpur and Dhaka.

Former union chairman Imam Hossain Sarkar said Abdul Baten Molla regularly hired labourers from the Cantonment area for agricultural work.

“They fled with around Tk70,000 in cash, gold ornaments and important documents after killing her,” he said.

Mizanur Rahman, inspector (investigation) of Chandina Police Station, said initial findings suggest the labourers were involved in the killing.

“We have recovered the body and are conducting an investigation. Legal action will be taken accordingly,” he said, adding that people should be cautious when hiring labourers and keep identification records, including photographs.