Pabna Correspondent:

A mob angered by the rape and murder of a ten-year-old girl demolished the multi-story residence of the primary suspect, Mostafa Pramanik, in Pabna Sadar upazila on Friday afternoon.

Following Friday prayers, hundreds of local residents gathered and stormed Mostafa’s home in Kulonia village under Dogachi Union. The vandalization continued for nearly four hours, lasting until around 6:00 PM.

The victim, Kamrunnahar Koli, a fourth-grader, went missing after leaving her home on the evening of September 9. Seven days later, on September 16, police recovered her sack-bound body from a marsh near her house.

Police subsequently arrested Mostafa, a local grocer, and his tenant, Yasin Ali. At a press conference on Thursday, Pabna Superintendent of Police Md. Ashraf Ali revealed that Koli had been taken to a room behind Mostafa’s grocery shop, where she was raped and suffocated to death before her body was concealed in a sack and dumped into the marsh.

Public outrage boiled over following the police briefing, which also revealed that the suspects had joined the search for the victim and participated in local human chains demanding her rescue in an attempt to divert suspicion.

Law enforcement personnel deployed to the scene were initially unable to stop the crowd due to the sheer size of the gathering.

Tariqul Islam, Officer-in-Charge of Pabna Sadar Police Station, said, “Police were present at the location, but officers were initially outnumbered by the crowd. Additional forces were later dispatched to bring the situation under control.”

The investigation has been transferred to the District Detective Branch (DB) of police. A local court has granted a five-day remand to interrogate both suspects in custody.