Child's body found in Munshiganj pond, locals vandalise alleged rapist's home

The body of six-year-old Fatema Akter was recovered from a pond at Rasunia union in Munshiganj's Sirajdikhan upazila, three days after she went missing.

According to local police, she was raped, strangled, and her body was dumped in a pond near her home by the alleged perpetrator, Sabbir.

Sabbir has reportedly confessed to the crime, and based on his information, Sirajdikhan police recovered Fatema's body from underwater hyacinths in a pond in Purbo Rasunia village at about 1:30am today (28 February).

Fatema was the daughter of Shahidul Islam, a Kuwait expatriate and a first-grade student at Rasunia Mahmudia Nurania Madrasa.

The girl went missing on Tuesday while attending a Waz Mahfil near her home.

On that night, Sabbir Khan, 25, son of Nahid Khan from Uttar Tajpur village under the same union, had set up a temporary stall selling ice cream at the Waz Mahfil. Sabbir was reportedly seen offering Fatema free ice cream before she went missing.

After the villagers had learnt about the matter, they nabbed Sabbir on Wednesday afternoon and handed him over to the police. 

Afterwards, Fatema's mother, Bilkis Begum, filed a case against him with the Sirajdikhan Police Station on the same day.

During interrogation after being placed under remand by a court yesterday, Sabbir confessed to raping and killing Fatema on Tuesday night and then dumping her body in the pond, said Shahid Al Mamun, officer-in-charge of the Sirajdikhan police.

Based on the information Sabbir gave us, Fatema's body was recovered from the pond at about 1:30am and sent to the morgue at Munshiganj General Hospital for a post-mortem examination, he added.

Meanwhile, upon learning about the rape and murder of the child, a group of angry villagers attacked and vandalised Sabbir's house early in the morning.