A 17-year-old girl who went missing from Maheshpur in Jhenaidah 18 months ago was allegedly killed following a dispute over marriage, police have said. Her body was later recovered from a secluded area in Pakshi, Ishwardi, but was buried as unidentified because authorities could not establish her identity at the time.
The victim, identified as Nizhum Khatun, had been missing since March 2025. After failing to locate her, her mother filed a general diary (GD) with Maheshpur Police Station.
Following the GD, investigators from the Jhenaidah District Police Cyber Crime Investigation Cell began looking into the disappearance. After a lengthy investigation, police said they uncovered details of the circumstances surrounding Nizhum’s death and identified her alleged killer as Mashrikul Zim, 23.
According to the police investigation, Nizhum and Zim were in a relationship. On 13 March 2025, Zim allegedly took Nizhum from Jhenaidah to the Pakshi railway station area in Ishwardi, Pabna, on the pretext of going out together.
Police said the pair later became involved in an argument over marriage. During the dispute, Zim allegedly assaulted Nizhum, causing her to lose consciousness. He then allegedly took her to a secluded wooded area beside the railway tracks and strangled her with her scarf.
Four days later, on 17 March, Ishwardi Police recovered the partially decomposed body of an unidentified teenage girl from an isolated location near Pakshi railway station. As the authorities were unable to establish her identity, the body underwent a post-mortem examination and was subsequently buried with the assistance of Anjuman Mufidul Islam in Pabna.
An unnatural death case was initially filed at Ishwardi Police Station in connection with the recovery of the unidentified body.
The investigation later continued under the Jhenaidah District Police Cyber Crime Investigation Cell. Investigators eventually found alleged links between Zim and Nizhum’s disappearance, prompting police to arrest him.
Police said Zim subsequently gave a confessional statement before a court in Jhenaidah, describing the circumstances surrounding Nizhum’s death. The statement forms part of the ongoing legal proceedings, while the allegations remain subject to the judicial process.
Jhenaidah Superintendent of Police Ashis Bin Hasan said the mystery had been solved through a coordinated investigation involving the police and the Cyber Crime Investigation Cell. He said the suspect was arrested following the investigation.
The court subsequently ordered that Mashrikul Zim be sent to jail.
The case has also highlighted how the inability to establish the identity of an unidentified body can complicate investigations into missing-person cases. In Nizhum’s case, police say the connection between the missing teenager and the unidentified body was established only after a prolonged investigation into her disappearance.
