The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has revealed details of a gruesome double murder in Noakhali, saying a woman and her young son were allegedly killed by family members in a planned attempt to seize disputed property.
The victims, Kamala Khatun and her minor son Noman, had been missing for more than two years before investigators uncovered the case and recovered their remains.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, CID officials said the murders took place in Sonaimuri upazila and were rooted in a long-running conflict over land ownership within the family.
According to investigators, Kamala Khatun disappeared on March 10, 2024. Shortly afterward, her stepson Ziaur Rahman Sagar filed a general diary with Sonaimuri Police Station regarding the disappearance.
Suspicion later grew after Kamala’s sister, Rahima Begum, filed a petition case with the court seeking an investigation into the matter.
The inquiry was first conducted by the district Detective Branch before being transferred to the CID for further investigation.
CID officials said approximately 30 decimals of land had previously been registered in the names of Kamala Khatun and her son by her late husband Abul Kalam Azad, triggering a dispute among family members over ownership of the property.
Investigators found that the victims had been assaulted and threatened on February 25, 2024, days before they vanished.
The breakthrough in the case came after detectives recovered Kamala Khatun’s mobile phone during the investigation. Using information obtained from the device, CID arrested Saiful Islam, also known as Rajon or Raju, from Mymensingh on May 21 this year.
Following his arrest and interrogation, police detained Ziaur Rahman Sagar and Ashiqur Rahman Tipu. CID identified all three suspects as sons of Abul Kalam Azad from his previous marriage and stepchildren of Kamala Khatun.
Investigators said the accused later admitted to planning the killings in advance in order to gain control of the disputed land.
According to CID findings, the mother and son were given food and water laced with sleeping pills on the night of March 1, 2024. After they lost consciousness, they were allegedly strangled with a towel and suffocated with pillows.
Officials said the bodies were buried in a pit that had already been prepared near a pond beside the family home. Clothing and other materials connected to the crime were later burned in an attempt to destroy evidence.
Acting on information obtained during interrogation, investigators recovered the skeletal remains of the victims on Saturday during an excavation carried out in the presence of local representatives, village police members and residents.
The remains were later sent to the morgue at Noakhali General Hospital for autopsy examinations.
CID officials said all three suspects have provided confessional statements before a court under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Authorities added that DNA testing is currently underway, while efforts continue to identify and arrest any additional suspects linked to the killings.
