Cumilla University Student, Mother Found Dead at Home

Police recovered the bodies of a university student and her mother from their residence in Cumilla city on Monday morning.

The deceased were identified as Tahmina Akter, 50, wife of the late Nurul Islam, a former Cumilla court official, and her daughter Sumaiya Afrin, 24, a student of Cumilla University.

The bodies were found on the second floor of a building near the Kaliajuri playground, police said. Investigators have collected CCTV footage and other evidence, suspecting the two may have been murdered, according to a bdnews24.com report.

“The bodies have been sent to the morgue. The exact cause or time of death cannot yet be confirmed,” said Mahinul Islam, officer-in-charge of Cumilla Kotwali Police Station.

The family had been living in the rented house for three and a half years. After Nurul Islam’s death last year, Tahmina lived there with her children. Her elder son, Tajul Islam Faisal, is a lawyer at the High Court in Dhaka, while her younger son, Saiful Islam Al Amin, works at Cumilla EPZ. Saiful, who usually stays in Cumilla, was in Dhaka on Sunday.

House owner Anisul Islam Rana said the family mostly kept to themselves and had little contact with neighbours.

According to him, the two sons returned late Sunday night and found the main door unlocked. Believing their mother and sister were asleep, they tried to wake them but failed. They then called the national emergency hotline 999, after which police arrived and recovered the bodies.

Rana added that CCTV footage from Sunday showed a man entering and leaving the house during the day. Police have been informed of this development.