Bandarban Correspondent:

Police recovered the body of a three-year-old girl from a trunk inside her aunt’s bedroom in the Suwalok Market area under Suwalok Union of Bandarban Sadar Upazila on Monday afternoon.

The deceased was identified as Taifa Sultana, daughter of Elias Khan, a resident of the area.

Police arrested her 49-year-old paternal aunt, Nargis Sultana, in connection with the murder. The Bandarban District Police disclosed the information in a press release around 10:00 PM on Monday.

According to police, Taifa went missing on Monday morning. After failing to find her despite extensive searching, her father, Elias Khan, went to the local police station to file a General Diary (GD).

Officers analyzed footage from CCTV cameras installed at Elias Khan’s residence and observed Nargis Sultana taking the child into her room. Police subsequently searched Nargis’s room and discovered Taifa’s body hidden inside a trunk. Nargis was immediately taken into custody.

Police stated in the press release that during preliminary interrogation, Nargis confessed to strangling her niece to death, though she has yet to disclose the motive behind the crime.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a family member revealed that Nargis had been living with her brother, Elias Khan, following a divorce. Family members suspect the murder may have stemmed from a personal dispute between Nargis and her sister-in-law, though Nargis has remained tight-lipped about her reasoning.

Bandarban Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Masud Parvez said, “Based on CCTV footage, we searched Nargis Sultana’s room and recovered the child’s body from a trunk. The body has been sent to Bandarban Sadar Hospital for an autopsy, and the suspect has been arrested under a murder case.”