Police say mystery surrounding Opratim’s killing largely solved

Police say the mystery surrounding the killing of 13-year-old Ishayat Shahriar Opratim, the only son of Comilla University Bengali Department Associate Professor Nahida Begum, has largely been unravelled, with preliminary evidence indicating that he may have been killed over his mother’s iPhone.

District police are scheduled to disclose details of the investigation at a press conference at noon on Sunday.

Investigators said university authorities and law enforcement agencies examined CCTV footage from several locations following Opratim’s disappearance. One recording showed a teenager accompanying Opratim near the main gate of Comilla University.

The teenager was later detained and questioned. Acting on information obtained during the interrogation, police raided his home on Saturday night and recovered Opratim’s mother’s iPhone.

Another teenager was also detained in connection with the incident on Saturday. Both are currently being questioned.

A district police official, speaking anonymously on Saturday night, said investigators had largely solved the mystery surrounding the killing.

“Based on the information gathered during the investigation and analysis of the evidence, it is initially believed that Opratim may have been killed over the iPhone,” the official said.

District police media officer and Additional Superintendent of Police Md Lutfur Rahman said the details would be presented at Sunday’s press conference.

Opratim went missing on Friday afternoon after leaving his rented home in the Gandhamati area of Kotbari in Cumilla. He had taken his mother’s iPhone with him, telling his family that he planned to take photographs with friends.

A Class VII student at Border Guard Public School, Opratim was later found dead in an isolated forest in Lalmai Hill in Sananda village of Bijoypur union under Sadar Dakshin upazila. His body was recovered on Friday afternoon, and police found signs of injuries to his head.

Police said more information about those involved was emerging as investigators questioned the two detained teenagers and examined the evidence recovered during the investigation.