The mystery surrounding the shocking murder of a woman and her daughter in the capital’s Mohammadpur has started unfolding following the arrest of domestic worker Ayesha.
Police said she has confessed during preliminary questioning that she stabbed the housewife after being caught stealing. The daughter was then stabbed when she rushed in after hearing her mother’s screams.
Police arrested Ayesha on Wednesday from Nalchity in Jhalakathi, two days after the killings on Monday morning. Her husband, Rabiul Islam, was also detained. A nine-member police team led by Mohammadpur Zone Assistant Commissioner (AC) Md Abdullah Al Mamun conducted the operation that resulted in their arrest.
Ayesha admitted to police that she took the job of a domestic help with the intention of stealing and had committed thefts at previous workplaces, said the investigation officer of the murder case, Mohammadpur Police Station Sub-Inspector Md Shahidul Islam Mashum.
“She told police that she stabbed housewife Laila Afroze, 48, after being caught stealing valuables. When the victim’s daughter, Nafisa, 15, witnessed the attack, Ayesha stabbed her as well.
“She used to enter households for work with the intention of stealing, and once she succeeded, she would flee,” Shahidul Islam said.
Mohammadpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mezbahan Uddin said further information is expected from Ayesha’s interrogation, and she may be placed on remand for questioning.
How Ayesha was caught
Tejgaon Division Deputy Commissioner (DC) of police Ibn-e-Mizan said the “cunning” Ayesha fled the house after the murders wearing a school uniform. She took money, gold jewellery, a mobile phone and other valuables from the flat, and switched off the phone shortly afterwards. She then travelled to Barishal by road. During the struggle inside the house, Ayesha sustained an injury to her left hand.
The investigation would reveal whether anyone else was involved, DC Mizan said.
Police said that because Ayesha had used a false address and did not use her phone, tracking her down was difficult. CCTV footage and information from sources eventually led them to her. At around 12pm on Wednesday, a special police unit arrested Ayesha and her husband Rabi from Koyarchor village in Nalchhity upazila, Jhalakathi.
Reward of Tk one lakh
A senior DMP officer said during the monthly crime conference at DMP Headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, news broke of the suspect’s arrest. When DC Ibn-e-Mizan announced the development, the room erupted in applause. DMP Commissioner Sheikh Sajjat Ali then declared a reward of Tk100,000 for the team involved in the operation.
The murder
On Monday morning, Laila Afroze, 48, and her daughter Nafisa Lawal Binte Aziz, 15, were found murdered in their flat on Shahjahan Road, Mohammadpur. The householder, MZ Azizul Islam, filed a case naming the domestic worker as the suspect. Police said Ayesha had started working at the flat only four days prior, giving her name as Ayesha. CCTV footage shows her leaving the flat wearing Nafisa’s school uniform after the murders.
Nafisa’s father, AJM Azizul Islam, a teacher at Sunbeams School in Uttara, later filed the murder case at Mohammadpur Police Station.
