Police have recovered the body of a 13-year-old schoolgirl from beside a rice field in Jagatpur village in Lalmai, Cumilla. A CNG-powered auto-rickshaw found nearby was also seized as part of the investigation.
The girl, identified as Jannat-ut-Tazmin, was found dead on Thursday, 8 October. Police suspect that she may have been killed after finding signs of injuries on her body. However, the circumstances surrounding her death and the identity of those responsible remain unclear.
Local residents alerted police after discovering the body near the rice field. Officers went to the scene and recovered the body before sending it to Cumilla Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem examination. The examination is expected to help establish the precise cause of death.
Lalmai police station officer-in-charge Mizanur Rahman confirmed the incident and said investigators were working to determine what happened.
Victim was a Class Seven student
Jannat-ut-Tazmin was a Class Seven student at Farida Bidyayatan School in Cumilla city. She was the daughter of Abdul Alim, originally from Chhatian Tala village in Jashore Sadar.
Her family has been living in the Race Course area of Cumilla city for a considerable period because her father works for a pharmaceutical company. She was therefore studying in Cumilla and was living with her family in the city.
The discovery of her body in a rural area of Lalmai has prompted investigators to examine how and why she reached the location. Police are also seeking to establish whether she travelled there voluntarily or was taken there by someone else.
Auto-rickshaw seized from the scene
Police seized a CNG-powered auto-rickshaw found near the body. Officers are examining whether the vehicle has any connection with the incident. At this stage, however, police have not confirmed who owns it or whether anyone travelled in it with the girl.
Investigators are also examining the circumstances in which the body was found and gathering information from people who may have seen or heard anything unusual in the area.
Officer-in-charge Mizanur Rahman said injuries were visible on the body, leading police to suspect that the girl had been murdered. He added that the identity of the person or people responsible was not yet known.
Investigation under way
Several police teams are working to uncover the circumstances behind the death. Investigators are expected to focus on the victim’s movements before her death, the location where the body was found and the seized vehicle.
The post-mortem examination will be important in determining the nature of the injuries and the immediate cause of death. Investigators will also use information gathered from the scene and from potential witnesses to reconstruct the events leading up to the discovery of the body.
Police have not yet disclosed a possible motive or identified any suspect. Authorities said further details would be provided as the investigation progresses.
The incident has caused distress among the girl’s family and the local community. For now, investigators are treating the death as suspicious, while the exact circumstances and responsibility for the incident remain under investigation.
