Police investigators in Pabna have uncovered horrifying details during the interrogation of suspects held over the rape and dismemberment of a ten-year-old schoolgirl, whose body was discovered hidden inside a sack a week after her disappearance.
Kamrunnahar Koli, a primary school pupil in class four, went missing on the evening of 9 September from Kulunia village under the Dogachi Union in Pabna Sadar upazila. Seven days later, on 16 September, local authorities recovered her dismembered remains from a ditch situated close to her family home. Law enforcement subsequently arrested local grocer Mostafa Pramanik and his tenant, Yasin Ali, in connection with the crime.
During police remand, Mostafa confessed to committing the crime mere minutes after finishing his evening prayers. According to investigators, the suspect lured Koli into a room behind his grocery shop following the Maghrib prayer, where he subjected her to repeated sexual assault before smothering her to death with a pillow within fifteen minutes.
Mostafa disclosed during interrogation that both he and Yasin were jointly involved in the assault and murder. However, Yasin has denied active participation in the act itself, claiming instead that Mostafa sought his assistance only after the child had already been killed, whereupon he merely helped conceal the crime.
Following the murder around 10:00 pm that evening, Mostafa casually reopened his grocery store and later washed away the bloodstains before returning home. In the days that followed, he engaged in a calculated cover-up to divert suspicion away from himself. He embedded himself with the victim’s grieving father, maintained late-night phone calls to inquire about the missing girl, and even joined local public demonstrations and human chain protests demanding justice for Koli. When the police eventually recovered the body on 16 September, Mostafa stood alongside journalists and investigating officers at the scene.
Sub-Inspector Benu Roy PPM of the Detective Branch (DB) of police, who is leading the investigation, revealed that digital forensics played a pivotal role in pinpointing the suspects. On the morning of her disappearance, Koli had visited Mostafa’s shop with her brother to purchase crisps, during which Mostafa secretly captured several inappropriate photos of the child on his mobile phone. Subsequent examination of his device uncovered numerous objectionable photographs of other young girls who frequented his store, suggesting a pattern of predatory behaviour.
Detectives initially identified Mostafa through technological tracking. When a local union parishad member was requested by police to approach Mostafa and touched his arm, the suspect began shaking uncontrollably. Hearing his frantically racing heart rate, officers took him into custody immediately.
The forensic examination conducted at Pabna General Hospital confirmed that the child was subjected to sexual violence prior to being asphyxiated. The suspects were subsequently remanded in custody for five days. Although the court granted the full remand period, the interrogation concluded early owing to Mostafa’s swift confession.
Investigating officer Benu Roy stated that the probe is approximately 99 per cent complete, with officers awaiting formal chemical and digital forensic reports. Evidence collected from the victim is being dispatched to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) laboratory in Rajshahi to establish whether the DNA of one or both suspects is present. Once the forensic analyses confirm these findings, the police intend to submit a comprehensive charge sheet to the court without delay.
