Staff Reporter:
A Dhaka court has granted a six-day remand for domestic worker Ayesha and a three-day remand for her husband Rabbi Shikder in connection with double murder in the capital’s Mohammadpur.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mahbub Alam issued the order following a hearing on Thursday.
Mohammadpur police station’s sub-inspector (SI) Shahidul Osman Masum produced the duo before the court and sought 10 days’ remand for each.
Laila Afroz, (48), and her daughter Nafisa Nawal Binte Aziz, (15), were murdered between 7:51am and 9:35am on 8 December at their home in Mohammadpur’s Shahjahan Road. The victims’ husband, school teacher AZ Azizul Islam, (57), filed a case naming the newly hired part-time domestic worker, who identified herself as Ayesha, as the prime suspect.
At a media briefing, Additional Commissioner NS Nazrul Islam said Tejgaon division detectives cracked what initially appeared to be a “clueless” case within 60 hours.
Investigators faced difficulties as Ayesha had given no photograph, NID, phone number or verifiable identity, and CCTV footage did not reveal her face because she entered and exited wearing a burqa.
With no digital evidence from the crime scene, detectives manually reviewed theft-related cases filed at Mohammadpur police station over the past year.
A description of a woman with burn marks on her neck, links to Geneva Camp and a history of theft matched the account provided by the victim’s family.
Police then traced an old mobile number connected to a previous theft case on Humayun Road. Call record analysis showed that the SIM was being used by Rabbi.
Following this lead, police conducted raids in Hemayetpur, Ashulia, Barishal and Patuakhali, eventually arresting the couple from Rabbi’s home at Charkaya village in Jhalakathi’s Nalchity upazila. A stolen laptop was recovered. During primary interrogation, Ayesha admitted to murdering both mother and daughter, said police.
According to the law enforcers, she had stolen Tk2,000 from the house on her second day of work. When Laila confronted her about the missing money the next day, an argument ensued. On the morning of the killings, Ayesha arrived carrying a switchgear knife. As Laila tried to call her husband, Ayesha stabbed her from behind and continued attacking her until she collapsed.
Hearing her mother’s screams, Nafisa came out of her room and was stabbed repeatedly. When she attempted to call the building guard via intercom, Ayesha cut the cable. Both victims died from excessive bleeding.
Ayesha then changed out of her bloodstained clothes, put on Nafisa’s school uniform and fled with a laptop, mobile phone, gold ornaments and cash. She later disposed of the victim’s phone and her own bloodied clothing into a river near Singair Bridge while leaving Dhaka, said police. Investigators also reported that Ayesha had a history of theft, including stealing Tk2 lakh and four bhoris of gold from her sister’s house. She had also been arrested previously in a theft case.
