Accused Forkan missing since jumping into Padma River: Police

Police say that Forkan Molla, the prime accused in the murder of five people—including his wife, three daughters, and brother-in-law—in Kapasia, Gazipur, jumped into the Padma River after leaving his mobile phone midway on the Padma Bridge.

CCTV footage from the bridge shows a man wearing a white shirt and black pants jumping into the river. Since then, no trace of him has been found.

However, his mobile phone has been recovered from Meherpur.

Gazipur Superintendent of Police Sharif Uddin disclosed the information at a press conference at his office Thursday afternoon.

The murders took place on the night of 8 May at a rented house belonging to expatriate Monir Hossain in Rautkona village of Kapasia upazila in Gazipur.

Police recovered the bodies of the five victims from the house the following morning.

The accused, Forkan Molla, is the son of Atiar Rahman of Meri Gopinathpur village in Gopalganj Sadar upazila.

The victims were his wife Sharmin Akter, 30; daughters Mim Khanam, 15, Umme Habiba, 8, and Faria, 2; and brother-in-law Rasul Mia, 23.

Sharmin was the daughter of Shahadat Hossain of Paikkandi Uttar Charpara village in Gopalganj Sadar.

Following the killings, Shahadat Hossain filed a murder case with Kapasia police station, naming Forkan Molla and three to four unidentified persons as accused.

Forkan’s ancestral home is in Meri Gopinathpur village of Gopalganj Sadar. He has been absconding since the incident.

According to family members and local sources, Forkan and Sharmin had been married for around 17 years.

Although they had lived in Dhaka for several years after their marriage, they moved to Kapasia in Gazipur six months ago. Forkan worked as a private car driver.

At the press conference, Superintendent of Police Sharif Uddin said that,  the accused’s mobile phone was recovered on 11 May from the Sadar police station area of Meherpur with the help of information technology.

A truck helper reportedly found the phone lying beside the railing near the middle of the Padma Bridge at around 6:50 am that day and picked it up.

After investigation and review of CCTV footage from the Padma Bridge, police saw that at 6:42 am a man wearing a white shirt and black pants got out of a white private car near the middle of the bridge.

He then placed something at the spot where the mobile phone was later found and remained there for two to three minutes before eventually climbing over the bridge railing and jumping into the Padma River.

Sharif Uddin further said that the person who jumped into the river was accused Forkan Molla, 40. Police primarily believe that he had preplanned the murders of his wife, three daughters, and brother-in-law before jumping from the Padma Bridge with the intention of taking his own life. However, his body has not yet been recovered.

Additional Superintendent of Police (Kaliganj circle) Md Asaduzzaman was also present at the press conference.