Suspect arrested in grandmother-granddaughter murder case in Ishwardi

Police have arrested the prime suspect in the sensational murder of a grandmother and her teenage granddaughter in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna.

The accused, Shariful Islam, 28, is a relative of the victims, the police confirmed.

According to police, he is the maternal cousin of the girl’s father, making him her uncle by relation and the son of the grandmother’s sister.

Additional Superintendent of Police Rezinur Islam confirmed that Shariful was detained a day after the February 27 midnight incident and later confessed to acting alone during interrogation.

Investigators also recovered a bamboo log, a hammer and an iron rod believed to have been used in the killings.

Police said the suspect was taken to the crime scene on Sunday, where he described how the attack was carried out.

The case was filed around midnight on February 28 by Marzina Khatun, daughter of the slain grandmother, Sufia Khatun, against unidentified persons.

Following investigation, Shariful was formally shown as the main accused.

Locals said they heard cries late at night on February 27. The following morning, Sufia Khatun’s bloodied body was found in the courtyard of her home, while her granddaughter, Jamila Akter, was discovered dead in a nearby mustard field.

According to family members, Jamila’s father, Zainal Kha, lives in Dhaka for work, leaving the grandmother and granddaughter residing alone in the house. Jamila was a Hifzia Quran student and studied in Class IX at a nearby Dakhil madrasa.

Police said further investigation is underway, including forensic analysis and preparation of the charge sheet.