Mother Still Unaware Her Son Is Dead

Jahanara Begum, a 60-year-old resident of Bijoynagar village in Noakhali’s Companiganj upazila, still does not know that her only son Kamal Uddin Babul was killed in a brutal attack in Rome along with his wife and their 5-year-old daughter.

Fearing the news could severely affect her health, family members have told her only that Babul is seriously ill and hospitalized. She continues to believe her son will return home.

When this correspondent visited the family’s home on Saturday afternoon, the house was filled with grief. Sitting inside, Jahanara Begum wept as she repeatedly said, “My Babul will come back. Nothing will happen to my Babul.”

Her words left relatives in tears. Family members said they have withheld the truth because they fear she would not be able to bear the shock.

According to relatives, Babul moved to Italy in 2010 with the help of a relative in search of a better livelihood. Before leaving Bangladesh, he married Momtaz Begum Arju, and the couple later had a son, Ayan, and a daughter, Aroya Islam Arisha.

After years of struggle, Babul settled permanently in Italy with his family. Relatives said they had hoped to return to Bangladesh permanently within a few years, but those plans ended with Friday night’s tragedy.

The attack occurred around 8 pm Friday local time in Via Montilio, on the outskirts of Rome. Babul, his wife Arju Begum, and their 5-year-old daughter Arisha were killed, while their son Ayan was seriously injured and remains hospitalized.

Family members allege the killings stemmed from a long-running personal dispute involving Shahadat Hossain, also from the same village. They claimed the conflict was linked to Shahadat’s alleged relationship with Arju before she married Babul. To distance the family from the dispute, Babul later took his wife and children to Italy.

Relatives said Shahadat moved to the United Kingdom with his family about four years ago before later traveling to Italy.

According to the family, a meeting was arranged on the day of the attack to resolve the dispute. During an argument, Shahadat allegedly attacked Babul and his family with a sharp weapon, killing Babul, Arju, and Arisha at the scene. Ayan managed to escape despite being injured.

Relatives also alleged that after the attack, Shahadat posted a message on Facebook that read: “A person does not die alone. They die and leave others feeling dead too. So when someone dies, they should take their loved ones with them, so no one has to suffer.”

Italian authorities on Saturday released Shahadat’s photograph and identified him as the prime suspect in the triple homicide. They appealed to the public for information on his whereabouts.

Shahadat’s elder brother, Ismail Hossain Harun, who lives in Saudi Arabia, said Shahadat sold all of his property and moved to the United Kingdom with his family about four years ago. He said they had little contact afterward, despite Shahadat visiting Bangladesh two months ago.

Babul’s father Sirajul Islam, said his son had received an anonymous death threat about a year ago while visiting Bangladesh. The family verbally informed Companiganj Police Station at the time.

“We were frightened then, but we never imagined we would lose our son this way,” he said.

According to Italian media, local residents called police after hearing screams near a park Friday night. Officers later recovered three bodies from the scene. Investigators believe the victims were killed with a sharp weapon.

Companiganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Nurul Hakim told Agamir Somoy that the family had verbally informed police about the earlier threat, after which officers increased patrols in the area to monitor their security.