It's murder after rape

It was the fingerprint that helped police identify an unclaimed body of a woman and eventually arrest her killer nine months ago.

Yesterday, a DNA test result found evidence that the suspected killer Enamul Haque, 30, who was arrested a week into the body recovery, raped the woman before killing her in March.

Enamul claimed him innocent during interrogation in police custody following his arrest but his DNA samples matched with DNA samples found in the victim's vaginal swab, Ezaz Shafi, inspector (investigation) of Airport Police Station, told The Daily Star.  

The beheaded body of Kulsum Akter, 28, was found on March 22 in the capital's Airport area in a sack with hands and legs tied up.

Police were clueless for days and the body remained unknown until police identified her by going through the national identity card database of the Election Commission (EC).

According to the EC database, Kulsum is the daughter of Azhar Hawlader of Kalkini upazila in Madaripur district.

Ezaz told The Daily Star that after identifying the victim, they collected Kulsum's cell phone number from her family members and tracked down the call list, helping them arrest Enamul.

Kulsum had an affair with Enamul, said Ezaz.

Enamul suspected that Kulsum had developed a relationship with someone else, instigating him to kill her, he added.

Detectives are investigating the case and they may take Enamul on fresh remand following the development, the police inspector added.