TDS Desk:

Detective police say they have solved the murder of a man with a “mental disability”, three months after his body was found, based on information extracted from mobile phone texts.

Six suspects, including the victim’s sister, have been arrested.

Four of them have given confessional statements under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before the Senior Judicial Magistrate in Sirajganj, said district Detective Branch (DB) chief Ekramul Hossain.

The details were shared in a media statement from the Sirajganj Police superintendent’s office on Thursday afternoon.

Those arrested are: the victim’s sister Reshma Khatun, 25, neighbour Habija Khatun, 42, ACI mill security guard Golam Mostofa, 55, Suman Chandra Bhowmik, 28, Topu Sarkar, 19 and Shafiqul Islam, 40.

The dead, Shamim Islam, 28, was from Kutirchar village in Kamarkhand Upazila, Sirajganj. Family members claim he had a mental disability.

Officer Ekramul said Shamim left home on Jul 2 saying he was going to bathe, but never returned.

Two days later, on Jul 4, police recovered his decomposed body from the bank of a pond inside the ACI mill compound in Bhadraghat.

Following the incident, Shamim’s father filed a case with Kamarkhand Police Station against unidentified suspects.

The investigation was later handed over to DB police. During the probe, officers traced a clue from a message one suspect had sent to his girlfriend, which led them to the suspect.

Photo: Collected

On Sep 29, police arrested Mostofa, Suman, Topu, and Shafiqul from their homes. The following day, Reshma and Habija were arrested.

During preliminary interrogation, police learned that Reshma, who worked at ACI mill, was involved in “immoral activities” with a security guard. Shamim once caught them in a compromising situation, leading to tension and conflict between brother and sister.

“She then conspired with the guards to kill Shamim,” Ekramul said.

He added, “One night, Shamim entered the ACI mill compound, allegedly to steal. The guards caught him and took him to neighbour Habija’s house, where Reshma was called. There, he was stabbed and acid was poured on him before being killed.

“Later, his body was dumped in a pond inside the mill covered with water hyacinth.”

Police said Mostofa, Suman, and Topu “confessed” to the crime in court on Sept 29, followed by Reshma on Sept 30. All six have since been sent to jail.

Efforts are under way to arrest the remaining suspects, according to the investigators.