Garment worker killed after ‘rape’ in Savar, father-in-law detained

A female readymade garment worker has been found dead in a house in Dhaka’s Savar Upazila, with her family alleging she was raped before being murdered.

Police have detained her father-in-law in connection with the incident.

Inspector Sirajul Islam Sabuj of the Savar Tannery Police Outpost said the man was picked up from a building in Tetuljhora on Saturday afternoon.

The victim’s body was discovered in a room on the second floor of the same building and sent to the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.

The victim, 19-year-old Lata Akter, was originally from Pirganj in Thakurgaon. She had been living in the rented apartment with her husband, Selim Mia, and working at a local garment factory.

The detained man, identified as 48-year-old Masud Mia, has not yet been formally charged. Police have not disclosed further details about him.

Lata’s brother-in-law, Mohammad Sanaullah, said: “Neighbours found her half-naked body in the room in the afternoon and alerted police. There were scratch marks on parts of her body.”

Her father, Abdus Salam, claimed: “My daughter was raped and then murdered. Her husband Selim has been missing since the incident.”

Inspector Sirajul said a post-mortem examination will determine whether she was sexually assaulted.

He added that initial findings suggest Selim Mia was not present at the house when the murder occurred.

Legal proceedings, including the filing of a case, are currently under way.