Mystery of 1,300 murders, nothing caught

Nearly nine years ago, the capital was shaken by a gruesome murder in Rampura, a residential neighbourhood. Lawyer Fahmida Akter Mithun was found dead in her home, her hands and feet bound. Despite the severity of the crime, the investigation struggled from the outset due to a lack of witnesses. The case remains unresolved, and the investigators reported to the court that no suspects could be conclusively identified.

This is just one of more than eleven high-profile murders in Dhaka over the past decade that authorities have failed to solve. Of these, five cases have been formally closed with final reports submitted to the court by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Yet, the larger picture remains grim: over the last ten years, more than 1,300 murders across the country have not been solved, highlighting systemic challenges within the investigative framework.

In the case of Fahmida Akter Mithun, the CID submitted its final report on 26 April 2021, following an investigation led by Inspector Nurunnabi. Similarly, on 9 March 2013, Miraj Ahmed, the younger brother of renowned composer and lyricist Ahmed Imtiaz Bulbul, was found murdered near the railway tracks at Kuril Bishwaroad in Dhaka. The case, initially handled by the Detective Branch (DB), was later transferred to the CID. Unable to find any leads, the then-CID Inspector Rezaul Karim submitted the final report to court on 31 August 2015, noting that future investigations could resume if new evidence emerged.

The murder of newlywed Sweeti Akter and her uncle Aminul Islam in Pallabi on 13 May 2015 follows a similar pattern. The case was initially investigated by Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police before being handed over to the CID three years later. Unable to identify the perpetrators, the CID submitted its final report on 1 January of last year. The court subsequently referred the investigation to the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) for further examination. Ratan Krishna Nath, the CID officer overseeing the case, commented that proper evidence collection by the local police and DB could have led to arrests. PBI Inspector Abdus Salam added, “Despite our best efforts, the lack of clues meant that the final report had to be submitted in consultation with senior officers.”

Other high-profile cases include the murder of housewife Dolly Rani Banik in Madhubagh, Mogbazar, on 9 November 2016, the brutal killing of 12-year-old schoolgirl Tasnim Rahman Korbi in Hazaribagh on 24 September 2012, and the assassination of television religious programme presenter Maulana Nurul Islam Faruqi in Purbaraazbazar on 27 August 2014. Many of these investigations saw multiple changes in lead officers and still remain unsolved.

The scale of unsolved murders extends even to politically sensitive cases. On 20 November 2018, Abu Bakar Abu, a BNP candidate for the Jashore-6 constituency, was found dead in the Buriganga River. Despite investigations by the PBI in both Dhaka and Jashore, the case remains shrouded in mystery.

For the families of victims, justice has remained a distant hope. Afroza Farhana Ahmed, mother of Tasnim Rahman Korbi, told reporters: “The CID had the case for five years. Everyone wanted to find the killers, but perhaps it was not meant to be. I believe that God will ensure justice in some form.”

These chilling cases illustrate the stark reality: Bangladesh continues to struggle with a high volume of unresolved murders, leaving grieving families without closure and justice delayed for thousands of victims.