Police in Gopalganj Sadar Upazila have recovered the decomposing body of a 65-year-old woman from a plot of land adjacent to her home in Satpar Bedbhita village, three days after she vanished without a trace. The discovery on Monday morning has sent shockwaves through the quiet rural settlement, leaving family members demanding justice over what they suspect to be a violent robbery.
The victim, identified as Pari Rani Hazra, had been missing since Friday. Desperate searches across nearby villages yielded no trace of her whereabouts. The grim reality emerged on Monday around 8:30 AM when relatives and neighbours noticed a foul odour emanating from a dense jute field alongside the road directly in front of her family residence. Following the stench into the vegetation, they discovered her lifeless remains hidden amongst the crops.
Her son, Mrinal Hazra, expressed conviction that his mother fell victim to a pre-meditated homicide motivated by theft. He recalled that she was wearing traditional gold ornaments in her nose and ears at the time of her disappearance, all of which were missing when the body was uncovered. Relatives believe assailants targeted the elderly woman for her jewellery, murdered her, and discarded her remains in the thicket to evade immediate detection.
Upon receiving notification from the grieving family, a contingent from the Gopalganj Sadar Police Station rushed to the scene to secure the area, document forensic evidence, and conduct an initial inquest. Inspector (Investigation) Sirajul Islam confirmed the details, stating that officers acted promptly once alerted by the family.
The body was subsequently transported to the morgue at the Gopalganj 250-Bed General Hospital for a comprehensive post-mortem examination. Law enforcement officials emphasized that whilst the circumstances strongly point towards foul play, the exact cause, timing, and nature of death will only be verified once the forensic pathology report is finalized.
Investigators are currently gathering statements from local residents, mapping the victim’s final known movements, and collecting potential physical evidence from the crime site. Senior officers reiterated the critical importance of early reporting and community cooperation in rural missing-persons cases, noting that timely information significantly aids in apprehending perpetrators and solving complex homicides.
