Cumilla boy Apratim to be buried beside family home

Ishiat Shahriar Apratim, 13, only son of Cumilla University teacher Dr Nahida Begum, will be buried at a cemetery beside his family home in the Kotbari Gandhamati area of Cumilla on Sunday morning.

Cumilla University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr M M Shariful Karim confirmed the burial plan while speaking to journalists at Apratim’s home around 9:15 PM on Saturday.

He said Apratim was born and raised in the Gandhamati area, where his family owns a house. His paternal grandparents live in Kushtia and maternal grandparents in Chandpur.

The vice-chancellor said Apratim’s namaz-e-janaza will be held at the Cumilla University campus at 10am on Sunday. After the funeral prayers and other formalities, he will be buried at around 10:30 AM.

Apratim’s body was brought to his home in a freezing van after an autopsy on Saturday. Hundreds of people gathered at the house to see him for the last time, while grief continued to grip the area throughout the night.

Apratim, a seventh-grade student of Border Guard Public School in Kotbari, went missing from the area on Friday afternoon while taking photos with his mother’s iPhone. His father, Firoz Shahriar, later filed a general diary with Sadar Dakshin Model Police Station.

Police recovered his body from bushes near Sananda village, adjacent to Lalmai Hill and close to the southern gate of Cumilla University, on Saturday afternoon.

Police have detained a man named Tuhin in connection with the incident. Another person, identified as Anas, was also detained by the SRB later in the afternoon.

Police suspect Apratim may have been killed over the iPhone, though the detained individuals are being questioned.

-AJM