Bodies of grandmother, granddaughter recovered, police suspect rape

Police have recovered the bodies of a grandmother, 65, and her granddaughter, 15, in Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna. Police suspect that the granddaughter was murdered after being raped, and the grandmother was killed for attempting to intervene. Two suspects have been detained for questioning in connection with this incident.

The grandmother’s body was recovered from the house and the granddaughter’s body from a nearby mustard field yesterday, Saturday morning. The teenage girl was a ninth-grade student at a local madrasa.

According to local residents, sounds of crying were suddenly heard from the house on Friday night. At that time, several neighbours came out of their homes, but as the noise stopped after a while, they returned to their rooms.

In the morning, neighbours first saw the woman’s body in the courtyard of the house. Later, when they could not find the granddaughter inside the house, they began searching for her.

At one point, the girl’s body was found in a mustard field nearby. Upon receiving the news, the police recovered both bodies.

Officer-in-charge (OC) of Ishwardi police station, Md Mominuzzaman, said it is initially suspected that criminals tried to abduct the granddaughter in the middle of the night, and the grandmother intervened. The grandmother was killed at that time.

Subsequently, the girl may have been strangled to death after being raped. As the body was found without clothes, the possibility of sexual assault is being investigated with importance.

The OC informed that two suspects have been detained and are being questioned. Multiple police teams have taken to the field regarding this incident. The bodies of the two deceased have been sent to the Pabna General Hospital morgue for autopsy.

After visiting the scene, District Superintendent of Police Anwar Zahid said, “We are investigating the incident very seriously. We hope to arrest the killers and bring them to justice very swiftly.”

Upon visiting the scene Saturday afternoon, it was observed that the house consists of two tin-shed rooms. There are crop fields behind the house. The grandmother’s body was recovered from the courtyard of this tin-shed house, and the granddaughter’s body from the crop field at the back.

When the news of recovery of the bodies spread, hundreds of men and women gathered at the house. The lamentations of the relatives would not stop, the neighbours tried to console them.

According to local residents, the girl's parents are separated. Due to work, the father has been in Dhaka for some time. Only the grandmother and granddaughter were living at that home.

Some neighbours alleged that taking advantage of their isolation, many in the village used to harass the girl. According to police sources, the inquest report found marks of injury from a heavy object on the woman's head and stab wounds on her body. They believe the girl was killed by strangulation.

The mother of the deceased girl told Prothom Alo that she married elsewhere six years ago following a divorce. She has three daughters from her first marriage. The elder two are married. The deceased girl was the youngest of all.

She said she last spoke to her youngest daughter on 21 February. She cannot suspect anyone in this incident. She said they have no enmity with anyone. She wants exemplary punishment for those involved in this incident.

Saturday afternoon, the bodies of the grandmother and granddaughter were taken to Pabna General Hospital. Following the autopsy there, the bodies will be handed over to the family. As of Saturday evening, no case had been filed regarding this incident. The police have advised the family to file a case.

A relative of the deceased girl told Prothom Alo that a relative of hers and another local youth liked the girl. They were occasionally seen around the house. However, they cannot fathom exactly who is involved in such brutality.