A woman, Aklima Begum, 35, has been accused of hacking her three-and-a-half-year-old son, Ashraful, to death in Tangail’s Sakhipur. Another child, Sidratul, 8, was critically injured in the same incident. Police have taken the child’s mother into custody. The incident took place around 12:30am on Wednesday night (September 16) in the Khaliar Baid (Mujibnagar Mor) area of the upazila.
The injured Sidratul is Aklima Begum’s daughter from her previous marriage. She was admitted in critical condition to Bhaluka upazila health complex. According to local and family sources, Shahin Mia first married roughly 30 years ago. As that marriage produced no children, his first wife later encouraged him to remarry. Ashraful was born to his second wife, Aklima Begum. As Aklima worked at a garment factory in Dhaka and was away from home most of the time, Ashraful was raised largely by Shahin Mia’s first wife, Nasima Akter, whom the child called “Boro Ma” (elder mother). Several locals said the child called his own mother “Auntie,” and some in the area believe this may have caused resentment or hurt feelings in Aklima. However, family members said there was no family conflict between Aklima and Shahin Mia, so the exact motive for the attack remains unclear; a police investigation may help clarify it.
Shahin Mia said that after nearly 30 years, he finally had a son, and that his second wife killed the child this way. He said it was not only his son who was attacked — Aklima’s daughter from her previous marriage, Sidratul, was also hacked and critically injured. He demanded a proper investigation and justice. After the attack, Ashraful was taken to Bhaluka upazila health complex, where doctors declared him dead; his body remains at the health complex.
Sakhipur police station’s officer-in-charge (OC), Murad Hossain, said the scene of the incident lies between the Sakhipur and Bhaluka police station areas. He said the child’s mother has been taken into Sakhipur police custody for her own safety following the incident, and that other legal proceedings are under way. News of the incident cast a shadow of grief over the area, with the tragic death of the three-and-a-half-year-old leaving residents shaken.