Standing before the bloodied bodies of his mother and three sisters, Junayed Islam Sifat could only repeat one question: “Who do I have left to live for?” His world seemed to collapse in an instant. The home where a mother’s warmth, three sisters’ laughter and dreams of a shared future had once lived now held only him.
On Thursday morning, assailants entered a rented home on Godown Road in Raipur municipality, Lakshipur, and attacked Shahinur Begum, 38, and her three daughters with sharp weapons. Shahinur and her eldest daughter Sayma Akter, 21, died at the scene along with one of the younger daughters. A second younger daughter, who was seriously wounded, died while being transported to a hospital in Dhaka. The prime suspect, Antar Majumdar, 25, was subsequently killed in a mob beating at the scene. Five lives lost in a single day left all of Raipur stunned with grief and fear. Police and the CID are among multiple agencies now investigating to establish the full facts.
According to family and local sources, Shahinur Begum was widowed in 2019 when her husband Kamal was killed in an electrical accident. Since then, she had been raising her four children — three daughters and one son — on her own. Seeing them educated and established in life had been her sole purpose.
That purpose was cut short at around 10:30am on Thursday. Assailants entered the home and attacked Shahinur and her daughters with sharp weapons. Shahinur, Sayma and one younger daughter died at the scene. A second younger daughter, seriously wounded, died while being transported to Dhaka. Antar Majumdar was killed in a mob beating shortly afterwards.
At the time of the attack, the family’s only son, Junayed Islam Sifat, was at work at a business owned by Saiful Islam Murad, president of the Raipur bazaar committee. He rushed home on hearing the news and found the bodies of his mother and three sisters covered in blood, left unable to speak.
On Friday, autopsies on all five bodies were conducted at Lakshipur General Hospital morgue. The bodies of Shahinur and her three daughters were then handed over to relatives. A funeral prayer is to be held in Raipur, after which the bodies will be taken to the family’s ancestral home in Comilla, where a second funeral prayer will be followed by burial in the family graveyard.
The body of Antar Majumdar remained at Lakshipur General Hospital morgue. Police said his relatives were notified but did not come to claim it.
Among the community, the killings have raised serious questions. Many residents said it would be difficult for one person to kill four people in such a brutal and rapid manner, and called on investigators to examine carefully whether others were involved. Police said they would not draw any conclusions before the investigation was complete.
Saiful Islam Murad, president of the Raipur Bazaar Committee, said: “Such a brutal act is completely unacceptable. People generally believe it would be very difficult for one person to kill four people at the same time. The full truth must be uncovered through a fair, impartial investigation, and all those responsible must be brought to justice.”
Police, CID crime scene unit personnel and senior officers visited the scene shortly after the killings. Dhaka Range DIG Moniruddaman also visited to provide guidance on the investigation. Uniformed and plain-clothes officers are conducting a coordinated investigation alongside a dedicated special investigation team examining every aspect of the case.
Relatives of the deceased filed a murder complaint at Raipur police station. Officer-in-charge Md. Shaheen Mia said: “We are giving maximum priority to uncovering the true cause of this crime. Significant evidence has been collected from the scene. Detailed findings will be shared once the investigation is complete.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report