Mother arrested after siblings, aged 6 and 4, found murdered in Tongi flat

Police have arrested a woman on suspicion of killing her two young children at a rented flat in Gazipur’s Tongi.

Aleya Begum, 30, was taken into custody on Friday night, Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Deputy Commissioner NM Nasir Uddin said in a media statement on Saturday afternoon.

“The case is currently under investigation,” said GMP Additional Commissioner Zahid Hasan.

The blood-soaked bodies of Maliha Akter, 6, and Mohammad Abdullah, 4, were recovered on Friday evening from the flat in the Arichpur (Jamai Bazar).

Later that night, the victim's father, Abdul Baten Mia, filed a case against unidentified suspects.

Baten, a transport businessman originally from Brahmanbaria’s Tatuakandi village, lives with his family in a flat on the third floor of an eight-storey building named Setu Villa.

Of the couple’s three children, the eldest daughter was staying at her maternal grandparents’ house.

Citing family accounts, police said the children had lunch with their parents and grandmother and later, Aleya had retired to a room for a nap while the grandmother had gone upstairs to another flat.

Meanwhile, the father went out, leaving the children alone in one of the rooms by themselves.

Aleya reportedly awoke sometime later and informed family members that her two children had been killed.

Police arrived at the scene shortly afterwards and sent the bodies to the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College morgue.

Tongi (East) police detained Aleya the same night.

Investigators say CCTV cameras in and around the building showed no one else entering or leaving the flat during the period in which the children were killed.

Police took Aleya into custody after observing erratic behaviour and noticing cut marks on her hands, which deepened their suspicion.

“Initial findings suggest the killings were carried out by the complainant’s wife, Aleya Begum,” the statement read.

Relatives told police that Aleya suffers from migraines.

No confirmed information has been found regarding any mental health issues.

GMP Assistant Commissioner Md Maidul Islam said: “An investigation is ongoing. The full details will be known once it is complete.”