Police recovered the sack-bound body of a child in a garbage dump in Patiya upazila of Chattogram on Thursday, two days after he was kidnapped.
The deceased was identified as Jaihan. The body was found during a joint operation by the Detective Branch (DB) and Patiya Police at a dumping ground in the Dakshin Gobindarkhil area of Patiya municipality.
Five suspects Saiful, Shahanur, Niha, Nihan, and Wasifa have been arrested in connection with the murder.
According to police, the child’s body was recovered from a dump behind the residence of the arrested individuals.
Jaihan went missing on Tuesday afternoon while playing in front of his house. His family initially suspected that he had fallen into a nearby pond.
Later, they found a handwritten ransom note on a bed inside their home demanding Tk3 lakh for his release and instructing them to unlock a family member’s mobile phone and leave it at a specified location.
The family then filed a General Diary (GD) with Patiya Police Station, and police seized the note as evidence.
Relatives alleged that neighbours were involved in the kidnapping and killed Jaihan after fearing they would be caught. They claimed the suspects struck him on the head with a hammer, hid the body in a sack, and dumped it.
They also alleged that the suspects pretended to help search for the child after the incident.
Ariful Islam Siddiqui, additional superintendent of police (Chattogram district), confirmed the recovery and said the sack-bound body was found in a ditch near the suspects’ home at dawn.
The body has been sent to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy. Police said legal proceedings are underway against those involved.
