Lotia village in mourning as relatives await bodies of mother and three girls

Lotia is a small village in Cumilla’s Homna upazila. Unlike other days, there is no chatter of children here today, no ordinary bustle. Daily life had come to a standstill and grief hung over every household. In the village graveyard, four new graves have been dug side-by-side. The villagers are now waiting for the bodies of four of their own to arrive, who were brutally killed in Lakshmipur.

This was the scene in Lotia around 11:00 am on Friday (26 June). Shahinur Akter (40) and her three daughters—Saima Akter (21), Ikra Akter (17) and Sipa Akter (10) were killed in their rented house in Laxmipur’s Raipur on Thursday (25 June). The only surviving member of the family is Shahinur’s 16-year-old son, Junayed Islam, alias Sifat. They had been living in a house in the Dhanhata area of Raipur municipality.

At Shahinur’s ancestral home, relatives were seen crying in the courtyard. Her elderly mother, Hazera Begum, repeatedly lost consciousness. Beside her, Shahinur’s mother-in-law Shefalur Nesa and sisters-in-law Nurjahan and Sufia Begum, wept inconsolably. No one could find the words to comfort them.

“How will I bear the grief of losing four people at once?” said Shefalur Nesa. “My late son’s family has been completely destroyed.” Shahinur’s mother added, “Who killed my beloved daughter? Why did they kill my three granddaughters? They visited for two days after Eid. How could I have known that would be our last meeting?”

Shahinur’s husband, Kamal Hossain, died from electrocution about seven years ago. He used to sell aluminium cookware, traveling from village to village in Raipur for a living. After his death, Shahinur stayed back in Raipur with her four children. She worked as a domestic helper and with the support of relatives and locals, managed to keep her children in school.

The family had big dreams. The eldest daughter, Saima, had passed her HSC from Dhaka’s Adamjee Cantonment College and was waiting for university admission. Ikra was set her HSC exams and the youngest, Sipa, was in the fourth grade. Despite their hardships, Shahinur never allowed their education to falter. Now, Sifat is the only one left. Alongside his studies in the 11th grade, he works at a local rod-and-cement shop for a salary of Tk 7,000. He survived only because he was at the shop when the attack occurred.

“If Sifat had been home, they would have killed him first,” said Abdul Baten, Shahinur’s brother-in-law. “He would never have stood by without trying to save his mother and sisters. Allah saved him, but such a survival is more painful than words can describe.” He recalled that his younger brother Kamal had moved to Raipur 30 years ago to start a business. “He educated his children in good schools. Now the family was getting by on Sifat’s small income and the help of well-wishers. It is hard to accept such a brutal attack on a family like this.”

Md. Ismail Hossain, a resident of Lotia who came to offer his condolences, said, “We have known this family since childhood. They were poor but lived with great dignity. Shahinur struggled so much to raise those children. No one could have imagined such a disaster would fall upon them. We want a proper investigation.”

Another local, Md. Sharif added, “Today, it feels as if the whole village has lost its own. I will never forget the sight of four graves being dug together. Our biggest concern now is Sifat. He has his whole life ahead of him. The state and society must stand by him.”

By the banks of the Meghna River, the four graves have been prepared. Relatives said that after a first funeral prayer in Raipur, the bodies would be brought to the village. Following a second prayer in the village field, the four will be buried side-by-side. The villagers demanded that the investigation uncover whether the killer acted alone or if others were involved.

Shahinur and her youngest daughter, Sipa, died on the spot during the attack in Raipur. Saima died after being taken to the hospital, while Ikra passed away on the way to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The accused, Antar Majumdar (28), a fruit hawker in Raipur and a resident of Noakhali’s Subarnachar, was caught and lynched by locals; he later died in the hospital. Police said the investigation to determine the motive is ongoing.