Bodies of missing teen, mother found in tutor’s flat

Police recovered the bodies of a teenage girl and her mother from a private tutor’s flat in Keraniganj upazila of Dhaka district on Thursday night, 21 days after they went missing.

The victims were identified as 14-year-old Zobaida Rahman Fatema and her 32-year-old mother, Rokeya Rahman, residents of Muktirbag in Kalindi union.

Police arrested tutor Mim Begum, 22, and her 15-year-old sister. During primary interrogation, both confessed to the murders, Keraniganj Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Saiful Alam told The Daily Star yesterday.

Residents of Muktirbag said a foul smell had been spreading in the area for several days. On Thursday night, neighbours traced it to Mim’s flat. When she refused to open the door, they called 999. 

Police later searched the flat and found Rokeya’s body under a bed and Fatema’s above a false ceiling in the bathroom. The bodies were sent to Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital morgue for autopsy.

According to police and relatives, eighth-grader Fatema went to her neighbour and private tutor Mim’s flat for lessons around 5:00pm on December 25. When she did not return, Rokeya went to look for her, but neither came back. 

On December 27, Rokeya’s husband, Shahin Ahmed, filed a general diary with Keraniganj Model Police Station. Later on January 6, he filed a kidnapping case, accusing unidentified suspects, as his wife and daughter still remained missing.

Shahin told reporters they had suspected Mim from the beginning and repeatedly informed police. 

OC Saiful Alam said Mim initially lowered suspicion by posing as a responsible tutor, claiming Fatema had left after lessons. CCTV footage showed Fatema entering and leaving the flat.

Investigators later found that after Fatema was killed, Mim’s younger sister wore her clothes and left the flat to mislead CCTV. She changed outside and returned minutes later.

Police said the motive stemmed from financial disputes. Rokeya had stood guarantor for an NGO loan taken by Mim, who failed to make regular payments, straining relations between the families.

According to OC Saiful Alam, a quarrel broke out between Mim’s younger sister and Fatema on the night of the incident. In anger, the younger sister strangled Fatema, who died instantly. When Rokeya arrived, she too was strangled with a scarf.