Seven years ago, after losing her husband to electrocution, Shahinur Akhter, 38, held her four children close, shielding them from life’s storms.
Through loans and the generosity of well-wishers, she managed to support her eldest daughter Saima Akhter through her HSC from Adamjee Cantonment College. All of her dreams were crushed in a bloodbath in a single afternoon.
In a gruesome incident yesterday morning, Shahinur and her three daughters -- Saima, 21; Ikra Begum, 17, and Sipa Akhter, 9 -- were hacked to death at their home in Dhanhata area of Raipur municipality town in Lakshmipur.
The sole survivor of the family is Shahinur’s 19-year-old son, Junaid Islam Sifat.
This morning, Sifat filed a murder case with Raipur Police Station, said the police station’s Inspector (Investigation) Md Abdul Mannan.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of the Raipur Circle of Lakshmipur District Police, Md Abdur Rashid, told The Daily Star at around 3:00pm today that the victims' ancestral home is in Homna upazila of Cumilla.
Following the autopsies at the Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital morgue, the four bodies were handed over to Sifat this afternoon.
The body of the suspected killer, Antar Majumdar, 30, a resident of Noakhali's Subarnachar upazila, who died in a mob beating, has not yet been handed over. A relative is expected to arrive to claim his body.
The ASP added that the motive behind the killings remains unknown, but police are actively working to solve the mystery.
Just a day ago, Sifat lived a happy life with his mother and three sisters. He now bears the crushing weight of four coffins.
To support his family, Sifat worked at a construction materials shop in the Raipur market.
The Daily Star spoke to the shop owner, Murad, around 12:30pm today. Murad said that Sifat usually arrives at the shop between 8:30am and 9:00am every day. Yesterday, he came to work without having breakfast. His mother had called to check if he had eaten. The family relied entirely on Sifat’s modest salary and financial assistance from neighbours. Murad noted that Sifat spoke to his mother for the last time at 9:00am yesterday, using the shop's mobile phone.
A grief-stricken Sifat told Murad, “Mother only asked if I had eaten breakfast. I told her I did. We didn't speak after that."
Returning home at noon, Sifat witnessed a scene no child should ever have to. The floor was covered in blood. The lifeless bodies of his mother and two sisters lay there. His eldest sister, Saima, passed away later at around 5:00pm while being rushed to Dhaka for emergency medical treatment.
"Hearing the news of the murders, I rushed to the spot," Murad said. "The scene inside the house was beyond words. Sifat is an exceptionally polite and hardworking boy. He was trying to steer his family through hardships. In just one day, he has lost everything."
According to police and local sources, the accused, Antar, attempted to flee immediately after the killings. However, local residents chased, cornered, and severely beat him. Police rescued him in critical condition and took him to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. Antar worked as a fruit vendor in Raipur.
Police are still unable to determine the motive behind the horrific crime. Officials noted that the death of the attacker in the mob beating has created complications in the investigation.
Lakshmipur Superintendent of Police Md Abu Tareq told The Daily Star that Antar used to live in a rented room on the upper floor of the same building where the incident occurred. He left about seven to eight months ago and moved to Lakshmipur town. Due to their prior acquaintance, he maintained contact with the victim family. The SP added that police are investigating several aspects and leads to uncover the specific motive behind the murders.
Locals suspect that Antar utilised his familiarity with the family to gain entry into the house.
As the bodies of the mother and three sisters were handed over to Sifat this afternoon, the air grew heavy with the tears of mourning neighbours.
As relatives and neighbours desperately tried to console Sifat, he repeatedly lost consciousness, crying out in agony. "Bring back my mother and sisters. I cannot live without my mother."
