Primary report suggests poisoning, hanging

Deaths of a woman and her son were caused by poison, while her husband died from hanging, according to primary medical report after conducting the autopsy.

Police on Thursday recovered the bodies of SM Bayezid (45), a businessman, his wife Kohinur Akter Anjana (42) and son Farhan (16) from a flat in the capital’s Mirpur area.

“We found odour of poison from the mouths of all three bodies, though cause of death in the man’s case is hanging,” said Dr AKM Moinuddin, lecturer of Forensic Medicine Department of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.

Dr Moinuddin said they have kept necessary organs of the bodies for conducting viscera tests and will be certain of the reasons of death after getting the viscera report.

Police suspect that Bayezid died by suicide after poisoning his wife and only child.

Officer-in-Charge of Kafrul Police Station Selimuzzaman said they have filed a case of unnatural death.

He said they were informed primarily that Bayezid was overburdened with debt.

“We will investigate whether there are other reasons behind the deaths,” the OC said.

Mohammad Hasan, a friend of Bayezid, said they were a happy family. Neighbours said they could not believe it after the news broke.

“Bayezid was in debt. He was forced to shut down his loss-incurring  knitting factory,” Murad Hossain, brother-in-law of Bayezid,  told The Daily Star.

Relatives heard of his debts but Bayezid would not share his frustrations with them.

Abdul Jalil, caretaker of the building where the family lived, said three to four men whom Bayezid owed money to came on Thursday and asked him about his (Bayezid’s) whereabouts. They forcibly went upstairs and knocked at the door of Bayezid’s flat. But getting no response, they left.

Soon after, another man -- identifying himself as Bayezid’s friend, who supposedly received a text from Bayezid’s mobile early yesterday -- came to the building, said Jalil.

That man also rang the doorbell and knocked at the door but got no response. Later, he informed Bayezid’s relatives of the matter. They arrived, unlocked the door with a spare key and found the bodies.

Police went to the flat in Mirpur-13 and found Bayezid’s body hanging from the ceiling. The bodies of his wife and son were on the bed.