No progress in Mili murder case

The district detective branch of police took over the Mili murder case around one month after the incident. But there was no headway in the case.

Ayesha Siddiqua Mili, 14, a student of class nine of Demsha High School, was shot dead when she had tried to protect her father from the killer's bullet at Purba Gatiyadenga under Satkania upazila on June 13 last year.

Mili fell victim to a planned incident that aimed at killing her father Nurul Amin during a dacoity, family sources said. It occurred following a three-decade dispute over a piece of government abandoned land, sources added.

A group of 25 armed miscreants, some in masks, attacked Nurul Amin's house at around 1am on the night. They opened fire at Amin. Mili was shot as she came forward to save her father and died on the spot. The miscreants also hit Amin and his wife with sharp weapons. They left the house leaving all the victims in a pool of blood. They also looted some goods from the house. Nurul Kabir alias Ledu and Mahbubur Rahman, nephews of Amin, were also shot when they came to the aid of victims.

Nurul Kabir filed a case accusing 25 people including four FIR named accused Mizanul Islam Titu, Abdul Karim, Abdul Momen and Abu Taher.

Titu's father Nurul Islam is the mastermind of the killing in name of robbery, Mili's father said.

It was a sequel to a dispute over a piece of land between Nurul Islam and his rivals of Khondokerpara of Purba Gatiyadenga. The feuding groups were locked in legal fights and bloody clashes over the land. A number of village arbitration were held in this connection. But all the verdicts and arbitration went in favour of Khondokerpara, Amin told The Daily Star.

At one stage, Islam asked Amin to settle the dispute in yet another arbitration. The result of the latest one also went in favour of Khondokerpara to infuriate Islam and his son Titu. They threatened Amin to face dire consequences.

"Attack on my house and killing of Mili were nothing but a revenge and Nurul Islam had a hand in it," Amin said.

After the June 13 incident, one accused was arrested with a mobile set looted from his house, he said. Police seized the set and drew the call-list from the operator concerned. It showed that a good number of phone calls were made from the set to that of Nurul Islam, Amin said.

The accused are now roaming freely and threatening the victims for withdrawal of the case, he added.