2 children murdered brutally

Two siblings were hacked to death in their home in the city's North Bashabo yesterday evening.

The dead are Mashrafe Bin Mahbub Abrar, seven, a madrasa student; and Humaira Bin Mahbub Takia, six, who was admitted to a local school this year.

Police and relatives suspect the two were killed by their mother Tanzin Rahman, 28, who is said to be mentally unstable.

She remains missing since the incident.

Police were collecting evidence from the scene around 1:00am today.

Mahbubur Rahman, a computer operator at Wasa, and Tanzin have been living at a two-room attic of a seven-storey building for around eight months, said Laila Noor, a relative.

They all were home yesterday as it was a public holiday.

Mahbubur found the two blood-stained bodies in two rooms after he returned home following evening prayers around 8:30pm.

The killing happened between 6:30pm and 8:30pm, said Sheikh Mohammad Maruf Hasan, an additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

A machete was found in one room, but police are yet to ascertain if it was used in the killing, said Maruf, who visited the house.

The mother is a suspect, he said, adding, “We're investigating it. We can't confirm if the mother took help from anyone else in the killing.”

Laila Noor, aunt of the victims, said Tanzin had been mentally unstable for the last few years.

“The mother never used to take good care of the kids…,” she said adding that she took Tanzin to a psychiatrist at Green Road a couple of years ago.