Five days after the discovery of a headless body along the banks of the Kaliganga River, the severed head of 27-year-old auto-rickshaw driver Rafik Mia has been recovered from a maize field in Dighulia, Manikganj Sadar. The grim discovery was made on Sunday (29 March) morning when a local farmer spotted the head while tending his crop.
Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) Superintendent Joyita Shilpi confirmed the recovery, stating that Rafik had been killed by a throat-cutting attack, after which the perpetrators had decapitated him and disposed of the head in the river. “The head is believed to belong to Rafik, though forensic testing will provide definitive confirmation,” she said.
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Sequence of Events
According to PBI and Sadar police sources, Rafik Mia, a resident of Rathura village in Ghior Upazila, went missing on Tuesday morning, 24 March, after leaving home at 10 a.m. in his battery-operated auto-rickshaw. The following afternoon, a headless body matching his description was recovered from the riverbank at Pasbarail by Sadar police.
Investigations revealed that Rafik had been close friends with construction worker Ripon Mia, who, along with two accomplices, allegedly planned the murder to sell Rafik’s auto-rickshaw.
| Date | Incident | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 24 March | Disappearance | Rafik leaves home at 10 a.m. |
| 24 March evening | Abduction | Ripon and associates take Rafik to Kaliganga river under pretext of smoking cannabis |
| 24 March night | Murder | Arman strikes Rafik with a hammer, Ripon decapitates him with a dao; Arman restrains hands, Sajib restrains legs |
| 25 March | Body recovered | Headless body found in river; auto taken by Ripon to Savar |
| 26 March | Arrests commence | Ripon apprehended in Kalamapur, Dhamrai, based on PBI tracking |
| 29 March | Head recovered | Head found in maize field; sent for forensic testing |
Investigation and Arrests
Following the discovery, Rafik’s brother, Arif Mia, filed a murder case at Sadar Police Station against unknown individuals. The PBI’s Manikganj unit undertook the investigation, leading to Ripon’s arrest on Thursday in Dhaka’s Dhamrai Upazila, based on technological tracking. Subsequent information from Ripon facilitated the arrests of Arman and Sajib, and Rafik’s auto-rickshaw was recovered from a garage in Kalamapur.
Superintendent Joyita Shilpi added that all three suspects confessed their involvement before the court under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and were remanded to custody.
Discovery of the Head
SI Pulok Kumar Das Majumdar of the Baniajuri Investigation Centre explained that the head likely floated from the riverbank before reaching the maize field, possibly carried there by animals such as dogs or jackals. The head has been sent to Manikganj Medical College Hospital for forensic analysis.
Public Reaction
The murder has sparked outrage in Manikganj, with local residents organising a human chain demanding the death penalty for the three accused. The protest took place on Sunday afternoon at Baniajuri Bus Stand along the Baniajuri-Ghior road. The community continues to demand swift and exemplary justice for the brutal crime, reflecting widespread concern over public safety.
This shocking case highlights both the premeditated cruelty of the perpetrators and the ongoing efforts of law enforcement to bring justice to victims in rural Bangladesh.