Man held over abduction, murder of son in Dhaka

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) has detained two people for their alleged involvement in the abduction and murder of a three and half year old boy in Dhaka's Jatrabari.

The detainee are: the boy's father Julhas (31) and his cohort Jewel Bepari (20).

Julhas allegedly killed his son over anger as his in-laws did not respond to his demand of a Tk 4 lakh dowry which he wanted to use to go abroad, Rab said in a statement today undersigned by Md Kaiyumuzzaman Khan, additional deputy inspector general of the elite force.  

Julhas on June 29 lodged a general diary with Jatrabari Police Station claiming that his son Mahim was abducted by some unidentified person/s from in front of their house since 12noon on June 27.

Based on the complaint, a Rab team jointly led by Rab-10 Company Commander and Deputy Director Ali Reza Rabbi and Squad Commander and Assistant Superintendent of Police Md Asaduzzaman detained Jewel Bepari from in front of Rajmahal Hotel in Matuail area of Jatrabari on June 30 in connection with the abduction.

On being quizzed, Jewel confessed to his involvement with the abduction and murder of the child and said Julhas, the child's father, was the mastermind of the crime, according to the Rab statement.

Julhas was held from Matuail Darbar Sharif intersection on the same day -- later, both Jewel and Julhas gave confessional statements saying they abducted the child and then killed him by making him drink a juice mixed with sleeping pills.

Based on information provided by the two detainees, the Rab team recovered the body from a secluded place in Demra area of the capital.

The culprits said in their statement that Jewel allured the child and took him to Matuail Bus Stand where Julhas was waiting for them around 12:30pm on June 27. They then went to the place in Demra where they made the child drink the spiked juice.

The duo then buried the body of the child under sand at the Green Model Town area. Later on June 29, Julhas made Jewel send a fake text message to his number demanding a ransom for the child's return, and filed the GD with Jatrabari police, according to their statement.

Investigation revealed that Julhas has long been demanding dowry money from his in-laws, and had also tortured his wife over this. He also demanded Tk 4 lakh from his in-laws for going abroad, but as he did not get any money from them, he became angry and planned to take revenge by murdering his own son.

The victim's body has been handed over to Jatrabari police and a case is being filed by the victim's mother against the duo in this connection, the Rab release added.