Father arrested for killing child in Bagerhat

Police have arrested a man from Bagerhat in connection with a case filed for killing his four-month-old child.

Sharankhola police arrested Majid Mollah (35) during a raid from Dakshin Tafalbari village in Sharankhola's Southkhali union.

Earlier on April 4, Majid Mollah threw his daughter into a pond over a land dispute with his brother. This morning, the child's mother Marufa Begum filed a case with Sharankhola Police Station accusing her husband of killing the child.

The victim was identified as Nupur, daughter of Majid Mollah of Dakshin Tafalbari village in Southkhali union of Sharankhola upazila. The arrested day labourer Majid is the son of late Latif Mollah of Dakshin Tafalbari village.

The child's mother Marufa Begum said that on March 30, her husband Majid and her brother-in-law Rashid Mollah had an argument over a land dispute.

"We started living in a house rented from our neighbour Nur Jahan. But even then, due to a dispute with his elder brother, my husband became restless. On Sunday evening, after work, I went Tafalbari bazar with my son Nayan to buy medicine. At the time, I left my daughter Nabisha (6) and four-month-old Nupur with my husband. My husband left Nabisha (6) at a neighbour's house and took Nupur and threw her into the pond of my brother-in-law Rashid Mollah," Marufa said.

"Later, after bringing the medicine, when I wanted to know about Nupur, my husband started talking incoherently. At one stage, he said that when he went to his elder brother Rashid's house with Nupur, he hit a tree in the dark and she fell into the pond. I ran to rescue my daughter from the pond. But the doctors of Sharankhola Upazila Health Complex declared her dead.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sharankhola Police Station Saidur Rahman said Majid used to get into arguments with his elder brother from time to time over building a house on the disputed land.

He threw his four-month-old child Nupur into the pond to frame his elder brother Rashid Mollah, the OC said.

We have arrested Majid in the case filed by the child's mother Marufa Begum. He confessed to killing his child in interrogation. We sent the body to Bagerhat Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.