Police question teenager seen with Apratim in CCTV footage
Police have detained a teenager in connection with the recovery of the body of Ishayat Shahriar, also known as Apratim, 13, the son of Nahida Begum, a teacher at Comilla University.
He was detained from the Kotbari area of Cumilla on Saturday afternoon after Apratim’s body was recovered. Police said he was being questioned as a suspect.
Cumilla district police media officer and Additional Superintendent of Police Md Lutfur Rahman confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo at around 4:00 pm.
He said a person had been detained in connection with the recovery of Apratim’s body and was being questioned. The information obtained from him would be verified and scrutinised before further legal action.
According to police and university sources, various efforts had been made to trace Apratim since he went missing. CCTV footage from Kotbari and areas adjacent to the university was also reviewed. While examining the footage this morning, the university’s proctorial team found a clip showing Apratim with a teenager near the university’s main gate. The teenager appeared to be older than Apratim and was wearing a cap.
Comilla University Vice-Chancellor MM Shariful Karim told Prothom Alo that Apratim had left home on Friday and did not return. After learning about the matter, members of the university’s proctorial team, deans and other teachers and officials contacted his family. Police were also informed.
“Two university teams began working on the matter yesterday. His body was found today. We have no words to express how heavy the loss of our child is,” he said.
The university’s proctorial team reviewed CCTV footage from in front of the university and saw a local boy walking around with Apratim. His movements appeared suspicious. We informed the law-enforcement agencies. They are carrying out their investigation.
Regarding the CCTV footage, the VC said, “The university’s proctorial team reviewed CCTV footage from in front of the university and saw a local boy walking around with Apratim. His movements appeared suspicious. We informed the law-enforcement agencies. They are carrying out their investigation.”
At around 1:00 pm today, police recovered Apratim’s body from an isolated wooded area in Lalmai Hill in Sananda village, under Bijoypur Union of Cumilla Sadar South upazila. Police and local sources said there were signs of injury to his head.
Opritom went missing on Friday afternoon after leaving his rented home in the Kotbari area. He was a Class-VII student at Cumilla Border Guard Public School. According to his family, he left home carrying his mother’s iPhone, saying that he was going to take photographs with his friends. He did not return home afterwards.
According to police, the iPhone that Apratim had with him has not yet been recovered. However, there is still no confirmed information as to whether he was killed with the intention of taking the phone. Police said nothing could be said with certainty about the motive for the killing until the investigation was completed.
Cumilla district police said the body would be sent to the morgue of Cumilla Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem examination. An investigation is under way to identify those involved in the incident and determine the cause of death.
Apratim was the only son of Nahida Begum, an associate professor in the Department of Bangla at Comilla University.
His death has cast a pall of grief over the university’s teachers, students, officers and employees. Teachers and students have demanded a proper investigation into the incident and that those responsible be brought to justice.