How one murder led police to uncover another after 11 years

On the night of 18 August 2006, Shyamal Chandra Das returned home after closing his grocery shop in Nandail upazila in Mymensing. After speaking briefly with his family, he left the house and never returned.

Four days later, villagers found his body floating in Bujhaiburi Beel. His hands and feet were tied, and his body bore signs of torture.

Shyamal's family filed a murder case, but despite investigations by different law enforcement agencies, the case remained unresolved for more than a decade.

At one stage, a charge sheet was submitted against a single accused, but the plaintiff sought a reinvestigation, prompting the court to transfer the case to the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI).

When investigators reopened the case, they discovered that another man, Rashid Maker, had allegedly been murdered to silence him after he witnessed the first killing.

The renewed investigation eventually led to charges against 11 people in 2018 in connection with the murders and the alleged cover-up.

According to the PBI, fresh analysis of case diaries, witness statements, the crime scene, and mobile phone call records revealed evidence that changed the direction of the investigation.

PBI Chief Additional Inspector General Mostafa Kamal said investigators found that another killing had allegedly been carried out to conceal the first murder.

The investigation identified three alleged motives behind Shyamal's murder.

Investigators said one motive stemmed from an alleged extramarital relationship between Shyamal and the wife of one of the accused. 

Another involved a long-running land dispute between Shyamal's family and several accused.

A third centered on an alleged financial dispute after one of the accused reportedly failed to return Tk50,000 taken from Shyamal on the promise of helping his brother avoid a criminal case.

According to the charge sheet, Shyamal was lured to the grounds of Achargaon High School after receiving a phone call from his friend Salam alias Samrat.

Investigators said that several men were waiting there. They restrained Shyamal, taped his mouth, tied his hands and feet and took him to Salam's house, where he was killed. His body was later dumped in Bujhaiburi Beel.

The investigation found that one person had witnessed Shyamal being taken away. That witness, Rashid Maker, initially remained silent.

However, investigators alleged that when he later tried to tell an acquaintance about what he had seen, the accused learned of it.

According to the PBI, Rashid was called out of his house on the night of 30 August 2006. He was allegedly assaulted, strangled and hanged from a mango tree to make the death appear to be suicide.

Police at the time registered an unnatural death case.

The investigation also alleged that Rashid's wife, Rabia Khatun, witnessed her husband being taken away. Two days later, she disappeared.

According to the charge sheet, she was abducted, tortured, and abandoned in a remote area after being forcibly drugged. Her family later said she wandered for years in a mentally unstable condition.

The investigation took a decisive turn in 2017 when Rabia returned to the area after 11 years. She later gave a statement before a magistrate describing what had happened to her.

Investigators said her testimony, together with mobile phone call records, witness statements, and other evidence, helped connect the two murders.

Following the reinvestigation, the PBI submitted charge sheets in 2018 against 11 accused in connection with Shyamal's murder.

Separate cases were also filed over Rashid's murder and Rabia's alleged abduction and torture.

Abdullah Al Mamun, the PBI officer who investigated the case and is now officer-in-charge of Mirzapur Police Station in Tangail, said the investigation relied heavily on technological evidence and circumstantial proof after re-examining the case from the beginning.

The cases are now under trial, and no verdict has yet been delivered.