‘Didn’t recognise her in a school uniform’: Building manager recounts moment suspect walked out

Laila Afroze, 48, one of the victims of today's double murder in Dhaka's Mohammadpur, suffered around 30 stab wounds, while her teenage daughter endured at least six, according to police and morgue officials.

The killer stabbed mostly at their throats and necks, officials at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College morgue said after completing the autopsies.

Laila and her daughter, 15-year-old Nafisa Nawal Binte Aziz, were found brutally killed inside their home on Shahjahan Road in Mohammadpur this morning. The attack was carried out allegedly by their part-time house help, who had started working there only four days ago.

Nafisa's father, AZ Azizul Islam, a teacher at an English-medium school, was at work when the murders took place.

Speaking to The Daily Star this evening, Mohammad Ibne Mizan, deputy commissioner of Tejgaon Division Police, said the house help remains the prime suspect.

"CCTV footage shows only one person -- the house help -- entering and leaving the apartment before and after the incident," he said. "We are analysing the footage and investigating whether anyone else may have been involved."

The CCTV footage shows Ayesha, the house help, entering the apartment around 7:51am, dressed in a burqa, and leaving at 9:36am wearing a school uniform with a bag slung over her shoulder.

Noorem Mahpara, Nafisa's cousin, said the uniform belonged to the slain teenager.

According to police and family members, Nafisa's father, Azizul, left for work around 7:00am.

Because examinations were underway at his school, he returned home earlier than usual. After repeatedly knocking on the door and getting no response, he unlocked the door and walked inside -- only to find Nafisa's body lying near the entrance.

Laila's body was found lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor.

Hearing Aziz's screams, neighbours rushed to the flat and immediately informed police.

Family members said residents of the two adjacent apartments were outside during the time of the murders, which is why no one heard the victims' cries for help.

Mohammad Ayub, the building manager, said the young woman -- about 20 years old -- had arrived at the building four days earlier wearing a burqa and seeking work as a part-time house help.

"As the family was looking for a house help, we sent her to their flat, and she began working there for about two hours a day," he said.

"Today, when she was leaving the building, I didn't recognise her because she was wearing a school uniform. I stopped her, and she told me she had visited Flat 7B as a guest a couple of days ago and was now heading out," he added.

The woman then hurriedly left on a rickshaw.

Police said multiple teams are now searching for the woman.