04 March, 2016 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

‘Depression drove mother to kill kids’ n Kamrul Hasan On the day they were murdered, Nusrat and Alvi were asked by their mother to go to bed, RAB media wing director Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan told a press briefing yesterday. As Nusrat lay in bed, Mahfuza attempted to strangle her. Nusrat resisted but was finally overpowered. Mahfuza then strangled Alvi. To cover up the crime, Mahfuza called her husband Amanullah, who was in Uttara, and her sister Afroza, who lived in a rented flat near Mahfuza’s Banasree residence. Mahfuza Malek Jesmin, 35, yesterday confessed to strangling her two children to death. Her motive remains unclear. She has told investigators that a bout of depression brought on by anxiety about the siblings’ future had caused her to murder them, Commander Mufti said. Father of the victims Amanullah filed a murder case against Mahfuza around 9:45pm, OC Rafiqul Islam confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune last night. Seven other people detained in connection with the incident have been released. Earlier, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officials informed the Dhaka Tribune that Mahfuza had killed

Mahfuza Malek Jesmin, mother of the two siblings killed in the capital's Banasree, is taken to RAB headquarters yesterday as she confessed to killing her children out of worries over their future MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU her children over an extramarital affair, and psychological and social disorder. The elite force now says it has not found evidence of an affair. RAB also claims that the double murder was the work of the psychologically-afflicted mother. But at the same time, investi-

gators described Mahfuza as calm and coherent during questioning and while thoroughly describing the killings. Investigators have not found any evidence that anybody else was present when the children were fatally assaulted, but Commander Mufti said a number of

facts indicate that the family was involved in the murders or in the subsequent effort to cover it up. Fourteen-year-old Nusrat Jahan and six-year-old Alvi Aman were declared dead at Dhaka Medical College Hospital after they had been brought there unconscious on Monday night.

At the time, family members claimed that the children had fallen asleep after having leftover Chinese food for lunch and did not wake up. Conflicting accounts of the incident given by the parents and family members led forensics experts on Wednesday to suspect that the two siblings from Dhaka’s Banasree neighbourhood might have been murdered. Mahfuza’s decision to stay at home while her children were taken to a nearby hospital was described by investigators as “unusual and suspicious.” The result of post-mortem examinations at Dhaka Medical College hinted at foul play. Injury marks were found on the children’s necks. The boy also had injury marks on his legs and his sister had eye injuries. Forensic scientists say they were waiting for the visceral test results to determine the causes of death. RAB took eight people, including the victims’ parents and maternal aunt Afroza Akhter, into custody in connection with the deaths of the two siblings. Seven of them have since been released. Mahfuza was handed over to Rampura police after the case was filed. Police are set to produce her before a Dhaka court today seeking remand. l

The unsung hero that is Mahmudullah

n Mazhar Uddin

INSIDE

Four years ago on March 22, almost every Bangladesh fan cried following the Tigers’ heart-breaking tworun loss against Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup at home. A helpless Mahmudullah was

Useless CCTV cams monitor city In Dhaka, most CCTV cameras installed at key points, except for those in Gulshan area, do not function properly while others cannot function during power cuts.  PAGE 3

crying his way to the dressing room after being unable to steer his side to victory. Ten runs were required in the final over but Bangladesh managed only seven. Mahmudullah was not the only cricketer who cried that day, though. The morale-shattering defeat left each and every single Bangladesh cricketer in tears. As fate would have it, Mahmudullah got another shot at glory. Against the same opposition. At the same venue. In the same tournament. And in the same month, March, the month of independence. This time, Mahmudullah, an

“unsung hero” to some and a “silent killer” to others, grabbed the opportunity with both hands and guided Bangladesh to a historical win, and in the process, a final date with India. The Tigers might have been under tremendous pressure but the 30-year-old was coolness personified right till the end of the innings. Deservedly, it was him who smashed the winning boundary to spark wild celebrations at the home of cricket in Mirpur. Yet again, the stylish batsman

HC urged to stop collection of tenants’ info

Martin Crowe dies

A writ petition has been filed with the High Court challenging legality of the police’s move to collect personal information about tenants from the landlords in Dhaka City by March 15.  PAGE 5

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Tributes flowed yesterday for former NZ cricket captain Martin Crowe, who died after a battle with cancer.  PAGE 26

Bangladesh batsman Mahmudullah glides one towards the long on region during their Asia Cup Twenty20 clash against Pakistan at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium last Wednesday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

EU president: Don’t come to Europe EU Council President Donald Tusk told illegal economic migrants not to risk their lives or money to make a perilous trip to Europe “for nothing” but said unilateral actions by EU states to deal with the crisis must stop.  PAGE 21

AL leader’s son stabs minor over a trifle The son of a local Awami League leader has reportedly stabbed a minor boy over a daft incident in Sirajganj. Alamgir Hossain, son of Ullapara municipality Awami League unit chief Ahsan Ali, dubbed Wednesday’s incident “nothing but a minor misunderstanding.”  PAGE 32