Armed Police Battalion (APBn) has recovered sack-bound body of a four-year-old child named Mohammad Omar from Jamtoli Rohingya Camp No. 15 in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, two days after he went missing.
Police have arrested a couple for their alleged involvement in the incident.
The body was recovered during a drive conducted in Block D-13 of Jamtoli Rohingya Camp No. 15 in Ukhiya around 11pm on Saturday. The arrested individuals have been identified as Abdur Rahman, 34 and his wife Ansi Begum, 30, both residents of the same block.
The deceased, Mohammad Omar, was the son of Abdul Hamid, a resident of Block D-1 in Camp No. 15.
According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Riaz Uddin Ahmed, acting commander of the 8 Armed Police Battalion, Omar went missing around noon on 8 October while playing with another child near his home.
Family members subsequently informed the block majhi and head majhi, as well as the police, following which law enforcers launched a search operation to locate the child.
The SP said during the search operation, an unidentified person phoned the child’s father on Friday noon and demanded a ransom of Tk50,000.
Using information technology to trace the location of the ransom caller, police pinpointed his position and conducted a drive in Block D-13 of Jamtoli Camp No. 15 on Saturday noon, arresting Abdur Rahman and his wife.
He added that based on information provided by the arrested couple, the child’s sack-bound body was recovered from inside the enclosure of a water tank adjacent to Abdur Rahman’s residence.
Police suspect the child was strangled to death and subsequently burnt to conceal his identity, leaving the body distorted, decomposed, and emitting a foul odour.
SP Riaz Uddin Ahmed further informed that preparations were underway to file a case under relevant laws against the arrested couple at Ukhiya Police Station.
