Grief has gripped Gobordanga village in Kaliganj Upazila of Jhenaidah after a migrant worker’s body was reportedly burned after killing in Malaysia, leaving his family in shock and anguish.
The report said Nazrul Islam, 35, the youngest son of Motaleb Hossain, was allegedly killed along with his fiancee in a brutal incident linked to a dispute with business partners.
Family members said Nazrul had moved to Malaysia in 2018 in search of work and initially took a job at a palm plantation.
When work at the plantation stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, he leased land in a remote area of Seremban district and started a livestock farm with partners, raising cattle, goats, poultry and other animals.
The venture grew into a business worth several crore taka, with more than a hundred livestock and birds, and he had recently sold some cattle while preparing to return home.
His father said tensions had been rising with business partners for months, with earlier attempts allegedly made on his life.
“We asked him to sell everything and come back home. He had started selling livestock and was preparing to return,” said Motaleb Hossain.
“We later learned through other migrants that my son and his fiancee were killed and their bodies burned,” he said, adding that the family has yet to trace his remains.
Nazrul’s elder brother Zahid Uddin said the family last spoke to him on 14 April.
“On 16 April, we received news from another Bangladeshi in Malaysia that my brother and his fiancee had been killed,” he said.
He said Kohinur Begum, daughter of Abdul Karim of Sonargaon in Narayanganj, had travelled to Malaysia after developing a relationship with Nazrul over the phone, and the two had planned to marry upon returning to Bangladesh.
Villagers said Nazrul had built the farm through hard work and had recently told them he intended to wind up the business and return home.
His mother, Rasula Begum, said she last spoke to her son on 14 April and has not been able to reach him since.
“We want his body brought back so we can bury him here,” she said, urging the government to assist the family.
Kaliganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Rezwana Nahid said the administration learned about the incident through media reports and had not yet received a formal complaint from the family.
She said the government could consider further action if the family submits an application to the expatriate welfare section at the district administration office.
