LAKSHMIPUR, June 27: Two separate cases were filed at Raipur Police Station on Friday over the killing of a mother and her three daughters in a rented house in Raipur of the upazila.
Two days after the killings, investigators have yet to determine the motive, prompting frustration among local residents.
Raipur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shahin Mia said the victims' son, Sifat, filed a murder case under Sections 302/34 of the Penal Code at around 3:00pm on Friday.
The case names the deceased prime suspect, Antor Majumdar, along with several unidentified individuals.
A separate unnatural death (UD) case was also filed over Antor's death after he was beaten by an angry mob following the attack, the OC said.
He said the bodies of the four victims and the prime suspect were handed over to their respective families after autopsies, adding that it was too early to determine the motive behind the killings and that the investigation was continuing.
Shana Ullah, younger brother of victim Shahinur Begum, alleged that his sister owned gold jewellery and suspected the attack was carried out to steal the valuables. He demanded a thorough investigation to determine the motive and whether anyone else had been involved.
The plaintiff, Junaid Islam Sifat, said the killings might also have been motivated by the theft of cash or gold ornaments. He said tenants used to pay rent to his mother in the landlord's absence, before it was later collected by the landlord.
According to police and local sources, funeral prayers for the victims were held at around 5:00pm on Friday in the Dhanhata area of Raipur town. Their bodies were later taken to their ancestral home in Homna, Cumilla, for burial in the family graveyard.
The deceased suspect, Antor Majumdar, 30, was the son of Kartik Majumdar of Subarnachar in Noakhali. He worked as a mobile fruit vendor in Raipur town.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (Raipur Circle) Abdur Rashed said investigators were treating the case with the highest priority. Although the motive had not yet been confirmed, he expressed hope that the mystery would soon be solved.
The attack took place at around 9:00am on Thursday when Antor Majumdar allegedly entered a ground-floor flat in a five-storey building owned by Amir Hossain Master and hacked Shahinur Begum and her three daughters.
Shahinur Begum, 38, and her eldest daughter, Saima Akter, 20, a student of the University of Dhaka, died at the scene. Her two younger daughters, Ikra Akter, 17, and Shifa Akter, 9, succumbed to their injuries while being taken to hospital.
