Domestic help wore burkha or kept face covered for 4 days, police unable to identify her

In connection with the murder of a mother and daughter in their own residence in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, the police consider the woman who worked there as a domestic help to be the sole suspect. However, the police have not yet been able to identify her.

Investigating police officials stated that the woman began working at the flat four days prior to Monday’s incident. For all four days, she either wore a burkha or kept her face covered while entering and leaving the residence.

As a result, her face was not captured on CCTV cameras. Apart from the two victims, no one else had seen her face. Consequently, it has not been possible to collect any information regarding her name or identity.

On Monday morning, Laila Afroz, 48 and her daughter Nafisa Nawal Binte Aziz, 15, were murdered with a sharp weapon in their 7th floor flat in a multi-storey building on Shahjahan road, Mohammadpur. At the time of the incident, Laila Afroz’s husband, Azizul Islam, was not at home.

On Monday night, Azizul Islam filed a murder case with Mohammadpur police station, naming the domestic worker as the sole accused.

After the recovery of the mother and daughter’s bodies on Monday, the police detained one of the building’s security guards for questioning.

Mohammadpur police station’s officer-in-charge (OC), Mezbah Uddin, told Prothom Alo on Tuesday night that the security guard had been questioned.

He informed the police that Laila Afroz’s family had told him they needed a domestic worker. Four days earlier, when a woman approached the building seeking work, he brought her to Laila. He had no prior acquaintance with the woman.

Family members also stated that Laila hired the domestic worker through the security guard four days before the incident.

The woman used to arrive in the morning and leave after finishing her tasks. When asked for her identity and mobile number, she avoided providing complete information and gave various excuses.

Azizul Islam, a teacher by profession, lives in Mohammadpur with his family. At around 7:00 am on Monday, he left for his workplace in Uttara. While at work, he repeatedly tried to contact his wife by phone but was unsuccessful.

He returned home at around 11:00 am and discovered his wife lying dead with multiple stab wounds, including on her neck. His daughter, with a deep cut on the right side below her neck, was found lying critically injured near the main entrance of the flat.

He immediately took her to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, where physicians declared her dead upon arrival.

In the case statement, Azizul mentioned that CCTV footage showed the accused arriving at the residence at 7:51 am to work. At 9:35 am, she was seen fleeing the flat wearing his daughter’s school uniform. She took with her a mobile phone, a laptop, gold ornaments, cash and other valuables.

The case statement further notes that, after reviewing the CCTV footage, he became certain that the accused, for unknown reasons, had grievously injured and killed his wife and daughter using a knife or another sharp weapon.

Deputy commissioner (DC) Ibne Mizan of the Tejgaon Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) told Prothom Alo that efforts to gather information about the domestic worker are ongoing. No significant progress has yet been made, but the investigation continues.

Meanwhile, the mother and daughter were buried on Tuesday in Natore. After a funeral prayer held at the ground of Nawab Siraj-ud-Dowla Government College at around 3:00 pm, they were laid to rest at a local cemetery.

Their bodies reached the area earlier in the day, where relatives and neighbours gathered to see them one last time. Family members broke down in tears. Before the funeral prayer, relatives demanded the immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of the person responsible for the murders.