Schoolgirl Murder in Pabna: 3 Die in Arson, Subsequently
Collected Photo
Three people who were burned in a fire set at the house of the main accused in the murder case of schoolgirl Riya in Pabna have died. One had succumbed to burn injury on Monday afternoon and two on Tuesday morning at the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in Dhaka.
The Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Pabna Sadar Police Station, Tarikul Islam, confirmed the deaths. The deceased are: Saiful Islam Sabbir from New Para area of Bhadara Union in Sadar Upazila, Md. Sabu from the same area, and Sumon Sheikh from East Raghobpur. They were burned because they lived near the house where the fire was set.
On Wednesday, June 3, the body of schoolgirl Riya was recovered from the Padma River in the Pirpur area of Bhadara Union, stuffed in a bag. The girl was a ninth-grader at Maulana Kasimuddin High School. On the same day, her boyfriend Naeem and his two associates Tuhin and Yasin were arrested on charges of murder.
That afternoon, Additional Superintendent of Police Rejinur Rahman of district police held a press conference to share the information. He said that Riya and Naeem had been in a relationship for a long time. On the morning of June 2, Riya went to Naeem's house. There, an altercation broke out between them over some financial transaction. At one point, Naeem strangled Riya to death. With the help of his friends, he put the body in a bag and dumped it in the river using a private car.
OC Tarikul of Sadar Police Station said that after Riya's burial on Thursday (June 4), angry local residents set fire to Naeem's house. No one from Naeem's family was home at the time. A gas cylinder inside the house exploded, causing the fire to spread. Several locals who had gathered outside were burned.
They were admitted to the Burn Institute in Dhaka in critical condition. There, three of them died one by one. OC Tarikul Islam of Pabna Sadar Police Station said that Sumon died on Monday afternoon, while Sabu and Sabbir died on Tuesday morning. Legal proceedings regarding the incident are underway.
