Police in Shariatpur’s Damudya upazila have recovered the body of a three-year-old boy packed inside a sack in a ditch, six hours after he was reported missing. The gruesome discovery on Saturday afternoon sparked furious protests, culminating in an angry crowd setting fire to a neighbour’s homestead over alleged involvement in the murder.
The deceased child, identified as Swaif Hossain, was the son of Selim Sardar and Shimuli Begum, residents of West Adasan village under Sidhalkura Union. Law enforcement officers have detained one suspect, identified as Russel Shikdar, in connection with the incident.
According to family members and local authorities, little Swaif went missing around 7:00 AM on Saturday while playing outside his family home. When frantic searches by relatives yielded no results, the family alerted the local authorities. A combined team from the Bangladesh Police and the Fire Service and Civil Defence launched a search operation, eventually discovering the toddler’s body stuffed inside a sack submerged in a ditch behind an adjacent house at approximately 1:00 PM.
Investigations point towards a pre-existing dispute between neighboring households as a potential motive for the crime. Selim Sardar revealed that an altercation had broken out on Friday evening between his mother and members of neighbour Ali Akbar Shikdar’s family over a trivial matter.
“My mother informed me about the argument late last night,” Selim stated. “I went to the local market this morning, only to return and find my son gone. After we notified the police station, officers and fire service crews searched the area and recovered my child’s body from the ditch behind Ali Akbar’s residence. I demand justice for the murder of my boy.”
As news of the horrific recovery spread through West Adasan, tensions rapidly escalated across the community. Outraged villagers gathered and torched the home of Ali Akbar Shikdar, suspecting his family’s direct involvement in the killing. Fire service teams and police personnel quickly intervened to bring the blaze under control and restore order. Members of the Shikdar household had fled the area prior to the arson attempt, making them unavailable for comment.
Shamsul Arefin, Additional Superintendent of Police for the Gosairhat Circle, confirmed the recovery of the victim’s body and stated that forensic evidence was being collected from the scene. He reassured the public that a full investigation is underway, pledging that every individual linked to the crime will face the full rigor of the law.
