Mashur confesses to 6 murders after being identified through CCTV footage: Police

Police have arrested Mashur Rahman alias Samrat, 40, after reviewing CCTV footage in connection with the recovery of six bodies over the past six months from an abandoned municipal community centre and nearby areas in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka.

According to Savar model police station, during preliminary interrogation Mashur confessed to being involved in all six murders. He was produced before a court on Monday morning with a request for 10 days of remand.

Arafatul Islam, additional superintendent of police (crime, ops and traffic–north) of Dhaka District Police, disclosed the information at a press briefing at Savar Model Police Station today, Monday.

After his arrest, Mashur told police that his home was in the Bank Colony area under Savar Municipality. However, during the briefing, Arafatul Islam said police could not verify his address in that area based on the information provided by the accused.

He stated, “As he lives a vagabond life, we consider him a vagrant. During interrogation, we did not find any signs or symptoms suggesting mental imbalance.”

The police official said the incidents of body recoveries from the municipal community centre and its surrounding areas had been under close investigation. With assistance from the municipality, the community centre was cleaned, and CCTV cameras were recently installed there.

Arafatul Islam further said that after two burnt bodies were recovered yesterday, Sunday from the second floor of the community centre, CCTV footage showed Mashur’s suspicious presence at the site. Police then conducted an operation and took him into custody. During preliminary interrogation, he confessed to involvement in a total of six murders, including the two discovered yesterday. Police have sought his remand, and further details are expected to emerge during interrogation.

At the press conference, the police official said that over the past five months, a total of five bodies had been recovered from the abandoned Savar municipal community centre. In addition, the body of a 75-year-old woman named Asma Begum was recovered from behind a tea stall adjacent to the Savar Model Mosque.

Among the six victims, the identities of five remain unconfirmed. Separate cases have been filed for each incident in accordance with the law.

Police said the first body was recovered on 29 August last year, when the partially decomposed body of an unidentified man (30), with his hands tied, was found on the second floor of the community centre.

On 11 October, the throat-slit body of an unidentified woman (30) was recovered from a bathroom on the second floor of the building.

On 19 December, the body of another unidentified man (35) was recovered from the same building.

Most recently, yesterday, police recovered the burnt bodies of two unidentified individuals aged 13 and 25 from the building.