A woman has confessed to killing her two-year-old stepson by making him ingest poison in Gouripur upazila of Mymensingh, according to police. Ak lima Akter told a court that she regarded the child, Waskuruni Islam, as an obstacle because he was the son of her husband’s previous wife.
The confession was recorded on Friday afternoon before Tahmina Akter, a judge at the Mymensingh Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Following the statement, the court ordered that Ak lima be sent to jail.
The development was confirmed by Mymensingh court inspector P S M Mostachinur Rahman and Gouripur Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) Md Habibur Rahman.
Court inspector Mostachinur Rahman said Ak lima had admitted responsibility for the child’s death in her statement before the court. Police are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Child dies after allegedly being given poison
According to police and family accounts, the incident took place on Tuesday at the family’s home in the Birpur Dattabari village of Gouripur upazila. The child was allegedly given poison and later taken to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, where he died while receiving treatment.
On Thursday evening, the child’s mother, Shefali Begum, filed a written complaint with the police. The complaint was subsequently registered as a case, and officers arrested the child’s father, Abdul Kadir, and stepmother, Ak lima Akter.
OC Md Habibur Rahman said the stepmother’s confession indicated that she considered the child an obstacle because he was born to her husband’s previous wife. According to the police account of her statement, she wanted to remove that obstacle.
However, the allegations against the child’s father remain under investigation, and no final judicial determination has been made regarding his involvement.
Police have applied to the court to place Abdul Kadir on a five-day remand for questioning. The application is awaiting a hearing.
Mother alleges attempt to conceal the death
Shefali Begum has alleged that both Abdul Kadir and his current wife were involved in her son’s killing. She also claimed that the child’s body was taken from the hospital without informing her and that an attempt was made to arrange a secret burial by presenting the stepmother as the child’s biological mother.
Shefali said she learnt about the alleged attempt from local people. She has demanded a proper investigation and justice for her son.
The allegations concerning the handling of the child’s body have yet to be independently established through the investigation.
Family background
According to local sources, Abdul Kadir married Shefali Begum, who is from the nearby village of Bara Kalihar, in 2015. The couple had two children: Jayanal Abedin, eight, and Waskuruni Islam, two.
The couple separated in November last year. Abdul Kadir married Ak lima Akter about a week after the separation. He subsequently lived with his second wife and his two children from his previous marriage.
The case has raised serious concerns about the circumstances surrounding the child’s death and the alleged family conflict preceding it. While the stepmother’s confession marks a significant development in the investigation, police must establish the full sequence of events and examine the allegations against the father.
The investigation is continuing, and the court will consider the remand application concerning Abdul Kadir. The allegations against him and the other circumstances of the case remain subject to the legal process.
