Man arrested six years after 14-year-old's killing in Rajbari

Police have arrested a man nearly six years after a 14-year-old boy was killed and his body dumped in a grass field in Rajbari's Baliakandi.

The accused, Mohammad Nazrul Islam, 48, was arrested from a rented house in Dhaka's Ashulia on 5 October and taken to court the following day, where police said he gave a voluntary confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), which has been investigating the case since 2021, said Omar was abducted from a road on the night of 3 January 2021, and taken first to a house toilet and later to a poultry farm, where he was attacked with sharp weapons before his body was dumped in a grass field in Dholjani village.

PBI said its investigation found that the killing was planned following disputes over suspected extramarital relationships.

How Omar was killed

PBI said Nazrul was related to Omar through a village relationship and that Omar was friends with the other accused in the case. Investigators also found that they regularly used drugs together, it said.

PBI said Omar was involved in an extramarital relationship with the wife of one of the accused and had allegedly tried to develop a similar relationship with the wife of another. This led to disputes and resentment between Omar and the two men, according to the investigation.

The men later planned to kill Omar and agreed to pay one of their associates Tk50,000 to carry out the killing. Nazrul joined the plan after learning about it, according to PBI.

On the night of the killing, Omar was allegedly picked up from the road and taken to a house toilet. Nazrul removed his shirt and tied his hands and face, after which the others attacked him with sharp weapons, PBI said.

He was then taken to a poultry farm and attacked again with sharp weapons. After confirming his death, the group dumped his body in a grass field and left, according to PBI.

Nazrul was paid Tk5,000 after the killing, PBI said. He then left the area for Dhaka, where he began earning a living by driving an auto-rickshaw.

Case history

Omar's bloodied body, bearing injuries from sharp weapons, was recovered from a grass field in Dholjani village on 4 January 2021.

The following day, his father filed a murder case with Baliakandi Police Station against unidentified accused under Sections 302, 201 and 34 of the Penal Code.

Following a request from the Rajbari police superintendent, Police Headquarters ordered PBI Faridpur District to take over the investigation on 22 February 2021.

Police Inspector Mohammad Tajul Islam of PBI Faridpur is investigating the case.

After a lengthy investigation, PBI arrested Nazrul at around 8:05pm on 5 October this year from a rented house at Lal Mia Tower in the Kathgora area under Ashulia Police Station in Dhaka.

PBI said Nazrul admitted during preliminary questioning that he was involved in the killing.

Tajul said investigators had examined various information, evidence and people connected to the case over a long period before identifying and arresting Nazrul.

"His involvement in the killing emerged after questioning him and verifying other information and evidence," he said.

He also said investigators were looking into whether anyone else was involved in the killing and what roles they played.

"If evidence of anyone's involvement is found, legal action will be taken accordingly," he said.

PBI Faridpur District Superintendent of Police Mohammad Robiul Islam said a professional investigation relies on proper analysis of information and evidence.

He said investigators combined crime-scene analysis, intelligence, information from trusted sources, and other documents in the case.

"Important aspects of the killing have been uncovered through analysis of the information and evidence gathered during the investigation, along with the voluntary confessional statement of the arrested accused," he said.