Mohammadpur double murder: Domestic help Ayesha arrested

Police have arrested 20-year-old domestic worker Ayesha in connection with the gruesome murder of a housewife and her teenage daughter in a seventh-floor flat on Shahjahan Road, Mohammadpur. 

The suspect was arrested in Jhalokathi district on Wednesday.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Mohammadpur Police Station, Mejbah Uddin, confirmed the arrest to Daily Samakal.

The victims have been identified as Laila Afroz (48), a housewife, and her daughter Nafisa Lawal Binte Aziz (15), a Class IX student of Mohammadpur Preparatory School. 

Nafisa’s father, MZ Azizul Islam, is a physics teacher at Sunbeams School in Uttara.

According to police and CCTV footage analysis: At around 7:00 am Monday, Azizul Islam left for work; at 7:51 am, a burqa-clad woman – later identified as Ayesha – entered the flat and at 9:36 am, the same person left the building wearing Nafisa’s school uniform and a face mask.

When Azizul Islam returned home around 11:30 am, he found his wife and daughter in a pool of blood.

Investigators say Ayesha had started working in the household only four days earlier. She had told the family her name was Ayesha, that she was from Rangpur, that her parents had died in a fire, and that she lived with relatives in Geneva Camp. She also claimed to have burn scars on her body.

Azizul Islam recounted, “A woman was needed for household work. Four days ago, a girl wearing a burqa came to the gate asking for a job. The doorman sent her up. My wife and daughter spoke to her and hired her on the spot. She said her name was Ayesha and that she was about 20. She came on time the first two days. On Sunday she arrived around 9:30 am. We never imagined anything like this could happen.”

Inside the flat, clear signs of a violent struggle were visible: blood stains from the front door throughout the rooms, overturned furniture, a ransacked cupboard and vanity bag, and Laila Afroz’s mobile phone missing. 

Police recovered a switchgear knife and a fruit knife from the bathroom, believed to be the murder weapons.

Officers say Nafisa appears to have discovered her mother’s body and tried to use the dining-room intercom to call for help. The line was cut during the attack, and the girl was stabbed at the same spot.

The building doorman, Malek (also referred to as Khalek by the family), is being questioned by police.

The motive is not yet officially confirmed, but robbery is suspected as several items are missing. Ayesha is now in custody and being interrogated.

The double murder has sent shockwaves through the quiet residential neighbourhood of Mohammadpur. Investigation continues.