Body of missing schoolgirl found dismembered six days after disappearance in Manikganj

Police have recovered the dismembered body of a schoolgirl six days after she went missing in Singair upazila of Manikganj.

The deceased, Maria, 14, an eighth-grade student of Shahorail High School and daughter of expatriate worker Mizan, was found Sunday afternoon (June 21) in a bush beside a graveyard in the Chandannagar area of the upazila.

Following the matter, a tenth-grade student of the same school has been taken into police custody for questioning as part of the initial inquiry, police confirmed.

According to family sources, Mariya was last seen on June 15 inside a classroom with a tenth-grade male student during school hours. The incident was reported to school authorities, who summoned the parents of both students and issued transfer certificates to each of them. Mariya left home after that — without her mobile phone — and was never seen again. Family members searched several possible locations but found no trace of her.

Six days later, on Sunday afternoon, local residents spotted a school bag near a bush in Chandannagar. A search of the surrounding area led to the discovery of the dismembered body of a teenage girl. Police were informed and arrived at the scene to recover the remains.

Mazaharul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Singair Police Station, said that the body has been sent to the morgue at Manikganj Medical College Hospital for autopsy.

"We are investigating who is involved in this killing and what led to it," the OC said. "Further details will emerge once the autopsy report is received and the investigation progresses."

Police said no formal case had been filed at the time of reporting, and the motive behind the killing remained under investigation.