Police in Barishal have recovered the stolen mobile phone of a retired schoolteacher seven days after she was found bound and murdered inside her rented residence, leading to the arrest of two suspects.
The two men taken into custody have been identified as Maruf, also known as Dhakaiya Maruf, and his associate Rafim. Investigators tracked down and arrested the pair in Barishal city after discovering the victim’s missing mobile phone in their possession.
Following preliminary interrogation, the suspects were produced before a local court on Wednesday afternoon, where they were remanded in judicial custody as prime suspects in the ongoing murder investigation.
Confirming the developments, Sushanta Sarkar, Deputy Commissioner (South) of Barishal Metropolitan Police, and Ranjit Chandra Nath, Officer-in-Charge of Kaunia Police Station, stated that information technology was instrumental in locating the device and apprehending those holding it.
Initial police findings suggest that the fatal assault likely occurred during a burglary or robbery attempt. Neither of the arrested suspects had any prior acquaintance or personal link with the victim or her family.
Deputy Commissioner Sushanta Sarkar noted that while the recovery of the mobile phone strongly links the suspects to the crime scene, further interrogation under official police remand will be required to establish whether additional accomplices were involved and to determine the exact motive behind the killing.
The victim, 65-year-old Amena Khanam, was a retired primary schoolteacher from Durgapur Government Primary School in Hijla Upazila and originally hailed from Mehendiganj Upazila. She lived alone in a rented apartment in the Moinar Pool area along Bhatikhana Rokeya Azim Road under Kaunia Police Station.
On the night of 1 October, after the landlord reported a lack of response from inside the apartment, her eldest son, Masum Rifat—a private bank officer based in Dhaka—returned to Barishal. With the assistance of local police, he broke open the locked door and discovered his mother’s bound body inside.
The victim’s son filed a murder case against unidentified individuals at Kaunia Police Station on 2 October, launching the investigation that led to Wednesday’s arrests.
