Madrasa student murdered 'by peer' in Noakhali

A madrasa student allegedly killed a 13-year-old peer over a trivial matter in Noakhali's Sonaimuri upazila last night.

The accused, aged 16, was arrested following the incident, Inspector (Investigation) of Sonaimuri Police Station Md Monir Hossain confirmed today.

The victim was from Jahanabad village in the upazila's Chashirhat union, while the arrested is from Tengapara area of Mymensingh.

The incident occurred around 2:30am at a madrasa in Sonaimuri municipality ward-6.

On information, police recovered the body from the scene around 4:00am and sent it to Noakhali 250-bed General Hospital for an autopsy.

Quoting locals, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sonaimuri Police Station Mohammad Khorshed Alam said about 10-15 days ago, a quarrel broke out between the two over wearing a prayer cap (tupi). A teacher of the madrasa later settled the matter, he said.

However, around 2:30am today, while students and the duty teacher were asleep in the residential room, the accused woke up and slit the victim's throat out of grudge, the police official said.

"On information, police rushed to the scene at dawn. The accused student has been taken into police custody, and the knife used in the murder has been seized," he added.

Legal action will be taken in connection with the incident once the autopsy is done, he added.