Uncertainty over body found in Padma River

Police are yet to confirm whether the body recovered from the Padma River is that of Forkan Mia, the prime accused in the murder of five members of a family in Kapasia, Gazipur.

Gazipur Superintendent of Police Md Sharif Uddin disclosed the information at a press briefing at his office around 3:30pm on Thursday.

Forkan is accused of killing his wife, three daughters and brother-in-law at a rented house in Rautakona village of Kapasia upazila on Friday night.

The SP said CCTV footage from the Padma Bridge shows a man jumping into the river. Family members of Forkan and the plaintiff in the case believe the person in the footage could be Forkan.

However, police said the identity cannot be confirmed without recovery of the body and DNA testing.
“Although the relatives suspect the person seen in the CCTV footage is Forkan, we cannot confirm it with certainty as the face is not clearly visible,” the SP said.

Police said three teams were deployed immediately after the murders to arrest Forkan. One team went to his village in Gopalganj, while another was sent to Benapole to prevent him from fleeing across the border.

Later, Forkan’s mobile phone was recovered from a bus helper in Meherpur. During questioning, the helper said he had found the phone on the Padma Bridge.

Police then reviewed CCTV footage from the bridge. The footage showed a man getting out of a private car, placing a handbag and mobile phone on the footpath, waiting for a short while and then jumping into the river.

The video was later shown to the plaintiff in the case, Forkan’s brother Jabbar and several locals in Gopalganj. They said the man in the footage appeared to be Forkan, but could not confirm it fully.

Police said the private car seen in the footage had been rented from a rent-a-car service in Paltan, Dhaka. Forkan allegedly told the driver that he was travelling because a relative had died. However, the driver could not clearly identify him as he had seen him only briefly.

The SP said police have confirmed that the recovered mobile phone belonged to Forkan. So far, investigators have found no evidence of the involvement of any second person in the killings.

Messages have been sent to police stations across the country so that any unidentified body recovered later can be checked through DNA testing.

Police said it is being primarily suspected that Forkan may have jumped from the Padma Bridge after the killings, but the matter remains under investigation.

The victims were identified as Forkan’s wife Sharmin, their three daughters Mim, 15, Maria, 8, and Faria, 2, and Sharmin’s brother Rasul Mia.