Police clueless about Christian woman murder

Police yesterday picked up a domestic help over the mysterious murder of an elderly Christian woman in the capital's Tejgaon area, but they were yet to have a clue about how and why she could be murdered.

Kiron, who used to do shopping for the woman's family, was detained for interrogation, said Mazharul Islam, officer-in-charge of Tejgaon Police Station.

Milgrade Gomes Milu, 65, was found dead in her flat on Friday morning with a deep gash to the throat. She also suffered a knife injury to her right arm.

Her husband Hubard Anil Gomes, 80, who was the only one in the apartment at the time of the murder, told reporters that four to five masked men entered the apartment after he opened the door in the morning hearing knocks. The men blindfolded and tied him up and killed his wife, he added.

The husband is in the suspect list and was interrogated by police on Friday.

The autopsy was conducted at Dhaka Medical College morgue.

Dr Sohel Mahmud, head of the forensic medicine department, however, told The Daily Star that it was difficult for a man in his 80s to cut someone's throat so deeply and accurately.

Police said they would conduct DNA profiling of some of the samples collected from the scene and from the scratch marks on Anil's face.

Police said they were investigating whether anyone killed the woman following a dispute over land or other family feud. Meanwhile, victim's brother Henry Gomez filed a case with Tejgaon Police Station on Friday night accusing some unnamed persons.

Around 8:00am on Friday, the couple's part-time maid Khurshi Begum informed other residents of the building that the couple was not opening the door.

When some of the residents started knocking on the door, Anil opened it. The residents saw Milu's body in a pool of blood in the living room and called police.