Murder of abducted child sparks protest in Dinajpur

Teachers and students of different educational institutions in Hakimpur upazila of the district formed a human chain in the upazila town yesterday, demanding capital punishment to the killers of four -year-old Abtahi Al Rashid.

Abtahi, son of Harunur Rashid, acting principal of Hakimpur Women's College, was abducted from Muharapara in the upazila town, on Monday last.  The abductors later demanded Tk 30 lakh through a text message to Abtahi's father.

Police found Abtahi's body in a jute sack at the house of Amzad Hossain of the area on Tuesday night, 36-hours after his abduction.

Mokhlesur Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Hakimpur Police Station, said Amzad's son Md Samiul Islam, 21, abducted the boy on Monday afternoon and killed him within half an hour.

Police arrested Samiul and his father Amzad Hossain on charges of abduction and killing. Samiul's mother Anwara Begum has been absconding since the incident, the OC added. 

Protesting the killing, several hundred teachers and students joined a human chain in the upazila town at around 11.00am. Parents and relatives of Abtahi also joined the programme organised by Hakimpur municipality.

Addressing a rally at the programme, the speakers demanded that local police administration work sincerely in the child-killing cases to ensure punishment of the killers.

Police said Samiul confessed to his involvement in the killing.

At least three children have been murdered for ransom in Dinajpur since November last year. Of them, an 8-year-old girl of Dinajpur Satellite town was found murdered on January 1, while four-year-old Porosh Chandra Roy's body was recovered in November last year. 

Mursalin Haque, a Class IX student of Mohabbatpur village under Dinajpur Sadar upazila, was murdered in June 2014 as the abductors did not get the ransom.