Father Confesses in Teen Daughter’s Killing

The father of a 16-year-old girl whose body was found abandoned in Khulna has confessed before a court to his role in her death, marking the latest development in a case that has shocked the local community. His confession follows an earlier statement by the victim’s mother, who had also admitted involvement in the killing.

On Sunday, 19 July, Akash appeared before Khulna Metropolitan Magistrate Court-1, where Magistrate Md Asadur Zaman recorded his confessional statement. Following the hearing, the court ordered that he be sent to jail.

Akash had been arrested on Saturday afternoon by members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Khulna Sadar Police from a shop in Dumuria Upazila, where he had reportedly been hiding.

Earlier, on 10 July, the victim’s mother, Arifa Yasmin Seema, also gave a confessional statement before the court, admitting her involvement in the death of their daughter, Nirjona, aged 16.

According to the case’s investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Aminul Islam of Khulna Police Station, Akash was questioned extensively after his arrest. During interrogation, he provided investigators with what police described as several important details about the incident. On Sunday morning, he reportedly expressed his willingness to make a voluntary confession before a magistrate, after which he was taken to court.

A police source said the incident began on 8 July when Nirjona left the family’s home in the Bosupara Banshtala area of Khulna city after deciding to go with her husband, Roni. Family members reportedly brought her back home shortly afterwards. Later that afternoon, an argument broke out between Nirjona and her mother. According to the account given during the investigation, the confrontation escalated into a physical altercation.

Police said Akash told investigators that he attempted to discipline his daughter with a piece of wood, but it accidentally struck her on the head. He claimed that he and his wife then tried unsuccessfully to save her. Investigators are treating this account as part of the evidence gathered during the inquiry.

According to investigators, the couple subsequently attempted to conceal the incident. Police allege that Akash tied the body with a black lungi, placed it inside a plastic sack, carried it from the second floor of the house, and transported it on his motorcycle while searching for a place to dispose of it. The body was eventually abandoned on a secluded road in the Prantika Residential Area on the outskirts of Khulna. Investigators said the couple then returned home, cleaned bloodstains from the house, spent the night there, and fled the following morning.

Officer-in-Charge Md Shafiqul Islam of Khulna Sadar Police Station said the investigation initially proved extremely challenging because the victim’s identity could not immediately be established. Despite efforts by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the body remained unidentified after it was recovered.

Police later released a photograph of the deceased on social media in an effort to identify her. Her identity was confirmed the following afternoon, allowing investigators to focus on tracing her family members.

The officer added that repeated attempts to contact the victim’s parents were unsuccessful, raising further suspicion. Investigators eventually located Seema and brought her in for questioning. Although she initially refused to discuss the case, she later provided a detailed confession. Police subsequently recovered the motorcycle allegedly used to transport the body six days after the incident, while Akash was arrested ten days after the killing from a tea stall in Dumuria Upazila.

The investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue to complete the legal process surrounding the case.