A seven-year-old girl who went missing in Jamalpur’s Madarganj has been found dead, with her body buried inside a neighbour’s house three days after she disappeared.
The body of Mariam Akter was recovered from a house in the Charlotabor area of Madarganj Upazila at around 1am on Saturday, according to Snehashish Roy, officer-in-charge of Madarganj Model Police Station.
Mariam was the daughter of Bahadur Ali of the same area. She was a first-grade pupil at Sidhuli Government Primary School.
According to information provided by local residents, Mariam went missing three days before her body was recovered. She had left for school but did not return home afterwards. Her family began searching for her in different places after she could not be located.
Despite efforts by relatives and local residents, no information about the child’s whereabouts was found during the following three days. The search continued until Saturday night, when members of Mariam’s family reportedly discovered that her body had been buried beneath the soil inside the residence of a man named Jaminur, located near the school.
After receiving the information, police went to the house and recovered the body from beneath the soil. The body was subsequently taken to the police station as part of the investigation.
Police have initially suspected that Mariam may have been killed before her body was buried inside the house. However, the exact circumstances surrounding her death, including how she died and who may have been responsible, have yet to be established.
Officer-in-charge Snehashish Roy said police were treating the matter as a serious case and that an investigation was under way. Two people have been detained in connection with the incident, and legal proceedings are being initiated, he added.
The discovery has caused concern in the local community, particularly because the child had disappeared after leaving for school and was later found buried in a residence close to the educational institution.
Police are expected to examine the circumstances of Mariam’s disappearance and death as part of the investigation. Further details are likely to emerge as the detained individuals are questioned and other evidence from the scene is examined.
For now, authorities have confirmed the recovery of the child’s body and the detention of two people, while the investigation continues to determine what happened to Mariam after she left for school three days earlier.
