Two women murdered in a shrine

Two women, including a khadem (devotee), were murdered inside a shrine in Shilmandir area of the town on Tuesday night.

Police recovered throat-slit bodies of Amena Begum, 60, of Gozaria upazila and Taizun Khatun, 48, of Munshiganj sadar, at Shah Solaiman Lengta Mazar yesterday morning.

Police detained Masud Kotwal, 55, owner of the shrine, and Babu, 25, a resident of the area, for interrogation.

Officer-in-charge of Munshiganj Sadar Police Station Alamgir Hossain said the investigation was focusing on a long-standing dispute over land and control of the shrine. He added that there was “evidence of sexual acts” at the scene.

Masud told police that he found the door of the shrine open when he went there on Wednesday morning. He called police the moment he saw the bodies.

He added that he built the shrine in 1988.

Locals said a group of drug addicts often hung out at the shrine.

Hosne Ara, a local ward councillor said, Amena had been taking care of the shrine since it was established. She lived in a tin shack beside of the shrine. Devotees came every Thursday and performed songs and zikir.

Taizun's son Kafil Uddin said his mother lived in the capital's Shyampur area. She came to the shrine on Tuesday evening.

Law enforcers were trying to solve the mystery, Mostafizur Rahman, additional superintendent of Munshiganj police, said.

Meanwhile, several hundred locals formed a human chain yesterday afternoon in Kunder Bazar area on Tongibari-Dhaka road demanding punishment of the killers.