Golam Rabbani, Gopalganj 

Police have arrested a mother, Sethu Begum, on charges of strangling her three-year-old daughter to death due to an extramarital affair in Gobra Nilarmat area of Sadar Upazila of Gopalganj.

 The child's body was recovered from a trunk in the house on Saturday afternoon, about 16 days after the murder. Miraj Molla, the alleged boyfriend of the accused in the incident, is absconding.

According to police and family sources, Setu Begum married Rubel Sheikh of the same area about four years ago. Rubel Sheikh is currently working in Saudi Arabia. Their only child was three-year-old Faria. While her husband was abroad, Setu met Miraj Molla, a resident of Faridpur, through the social media TikTok, which later turned into an extramarital affair.

According to the complaint, on the evening of January 22, Setu Begum strangled Faria to death by wrapping her headscarf inside the house. Later, she hid the body in a trunk in the house and left the house with the man.

Police said that a few days later, the man left Setu at his relative's house in Faridpur and fled. When questioned by the family, Setu confessed to killing him. On Saturday, his mother and uncle handed him over to Gopalganj Sadar Police Station, and based on the information provided by the police, they opened the trunk from the house and recovered the child's body.

Gopalganj District Police Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Sakhawat Hossain Sentu said, "The body has been recovered and sent to Gopalganj General Hospital for autopsy. The accused mother Setu Begum has been arrested. Efforts are underway to arrest the absconding person. Legal action is being taken in the incident."

Meanwhile, the death of the child has cast a shadow of grief over the family and the area. Relatives have demanded a fair investigation into the incident and exemplary punishment.