Four identified in Apratim murder, two detained
Apratim
‘Where will I look for my son? In the jungle or in the water?’ Cumilla University teacher Nahida Nahid wrote the words on Facebook in despair after her son went missing. A search for him was underway at various locations. Many had hoped the child would return. After 20 hours, he was found in a jungle, but not alive.
Nahida’s Facebook post began circulating on social media from Friday night and Saturday morning. After failing to find Apratim despite searching nearby areas, his father filed a general diary with the police. A message was also issued through Moon Alert, an emergency alert system used by police to help locate missing children. But Apratim was ultimately not found alive. His body was recovered on Saturday from a jungle in the South Sananda area near the entertainment park Magic Paradise beside the university’s south gate.
Police have identified four people in connection with the recovery of the body of Ishayat Shahriar Apratim, 13. Two of them have been detained. One of them is named Tuhin. Police have not disclosed the name of the other person in the interest of the investigation. Apratim left home Friday afternoon after secretly taking his mother’s iPhone to take pictures.
Cumilla Superintendent of Police Md. Anisuzzaman told Agamir Somoy at 6 p.m., “The person seen with deceased Apratim in the CCTV footage is Tuhin, the son of Nurul Alam from the Sananda area. So far, we have identified four people in this incident. Although we have detained two people, we are not disclosing the name of the other person in the interest of the investigation.”
Meanwhile, Nahida was devastated after her son’s body was recovered. At her home in Kotbari, Cumilla, she was seen breaking down in tears. She said, “What kind of country is this? How will I live? I have only one son. How will I spend my life? You all tell me, how will I spend my life without him?” The Cumilla University teacher repeatedly fainted as she spoke.
“I want to know what wrong my son did. Give me an answer. I came to Cumilla to work. Is that my fault? What wrong did my son do? I only want an answer to that,” Nahida said while crying.
Police suspect Apratim was killed for the iPhone he had with him. The iPhone can also be seen in Apratim’s hand in CCTV footage. The footage shows Apratim talking to another teenager in front of a market. Another circulated footage shows him walking with the same teenager. The superintendent of police said the teenager is Tuhin.
Sadar South Model Police Station Officer in Charge Rakibul Islam said, “We initially suspect that the murder took place over the mobile phone. We have already detained a person named Tuhin on suspicion of involvement in the incident.”
Apratim was a seventh-grade student at Cumilla Border Guard Public School. According to police and family sources, he went out on Friday with his mother’s iPhone to take pictures with his friends. He did not return home afterward.
Meanwhile, students at Cumilla University staged a protest demanding that those involved in Apratim’s murder be identified and brought to justice.
