A woman and her two daughters were killed in an attack inside their rented home in Lakshmipur's Raipur upazila today, while the suspected assailant was later beaten to death by an angry mob, police said.
The deceased were identified as Shahinur Begum, 38, her eldest daughter Saima Akter, 21, a student of Dhaka University, and her youngest daughter Shifa Akter, 9.
The alleged attacker, Antar Mazumder, 35, was subsequently chased down and killed by an infuriated mob, said Lakshmipur Superintendent of Police Md Abu Tareq.
Shahinur's second daughter, Ikra Akter, 17, an HSC student of Raipur Kazi Faruqui College, suffered critical injuries in the attack and was taken to a hospital in Dhaka for treatment.
The incident took place between 10:45am and 11:15am at the victims' rented house in the Godown Road area under Ward No. 3 of Raipur Municipality.
At least six to seven police personnel were injured after being hit by bricks thrown by an agitated crowd while attempting to bring the situation under control, the SP said.
Police have yet to determine the motive behind the attack and are investigating whether anyone else was involved.
Quoting local residents, police said the family originally hailed from Cumilla and had been living in the rented house for several years.
Following the death of Shahinur's husband, Kamal, who was electrocuted a few years ago, she had been residing there with her three daughters and a son.
Police said investigations are ongoing.
According to police and locals, Antar, a resident of Subarnachar upazila in Noakhali, used to visit the house regularly.
Today, he entered the residence armed with a sharp weapon and attacked Shahinur and her three daughters, leaving them seriously injured.
Hearing their screams, neighbours rushed to the scene. As Antar attempted to flee, locals chased him, caught him and beat him. Antar was later taken to hospital, where he was declared dead.
Raipur police deployed additional personnel to bring the situation under control.
Mamunur Rashid, resident medical officer of Raipur Upazila Health Complex, said Saima and Shifa had died before reaching the hospital, while their mother succumbed to her injuries during treatment.
