Rafiqul Islam Rana, Araihazar (N'ganj)

9 unnatural deaths have occurred in separate places in Araihazar, Narayanganj in the last two weeks. Some of these deaths were due to drowning, some were suicides in various ways, and some were mysterious. However, Araihazar Police Station said that legal action cannot be taken in most of the cases as the victim's family did not file any complaint.

On Saturday (August 15), Siddique's son Musa (35) and Alkas' son Lokman (22) died in hospital after consuming excessive and toxic alcohol in the Dahmaruadi Khezur Tola area of Brahmandi Union. However, the police said that the deceased Lokman's father Alkas has filed a case in this regard and named Zahirul, son of the deceased Kana Mojibur of the same area, as the accused. The accused Zahirul is currently absconding.

Last night (August 18), Hosneyara Akhter (39), daughter of Md. Rahman Mia and Mosa Selina Begum of Madhabdi area of Narsingdi, was beaten to death by her husband Sharif and brought to the Bagadi Kandapara graveyard in Sholagram under Araihazar police station and tried to bury her alone. At that time, the local people caught Sharif by the hand and detained him inside the Noakandi school and informed the police. Later, the police of Madhabdi police station came and recovered the body along with the killer and took it to the police station.

On August 20, four children from the same house drowned in the pond water while bathing in the Daptara Khanpara area of the upazila. The bodies of four children were recovered from the pond that evening. The deceased children are Ozaifa (10), Afsa (12), Riya Moni (8) and Rubaiya (8). Among the deceased, Ozaifa's father's name is Alamin, Afsa's father's name is Munna, Riya Moni's father's name is Jahangir and Rubaiya's father's name is Rakib. All of them were studying in different classes of the local school.

According to police and local sources, after not finding the children at home in the afternoon, the family members started searching around. At one stage, they became suspicious when they saw the children's shoes and sandals lying on the pond next to Munna's house. Later, family members and local people went into the pond and rescued the four children from under the water. Many eyewitnesses said that the children had taken a bath in the pond at the same time around 2.30 pm. However, many local residents consider the simultaneous death of four children from the same house to be mysterious.

On Tuesday (August 25) morning, the body of a powerloom worker named Tanim (30) was recovered from the powerloom mill of the deceased Abbas Chairman in the Dakshinpara area of Fatepur union of the upazila. The police recovered the body and sent it to the morgue. It is known that the deceased Tanim is a resident of Khandakerbari area of Patia police station in Chittagong district. However, the police said that no complaint has been filed with the police station by the family.

On Friday (August 28), a child named Ashrafi Akter (7) drowned in the pond near his house while taking a bath with his family members. The incident took place in Shambhupura village of Khagkanda union. After about two hours of searching, Ashrafi was rescued from the pond. Later, when he was taken to the upazila health complex, the on-duty doctor Sumon Das declared him dead. Ashrafi is the daughter of Afzal Hossain of Shambhupura village.
On the last Saturday (August 29) night, Ashtami Chandra Dey (22), wife of Sachindra Dey's son Rajib Dey, committed suicide by consuming poison in Palpara area located in the upazila's municipality. Ashtami died on the way to Dhaka Medical College Hospital after consuming poison. Later, they rushed her to her home without taking her to the hospital. The deceased Ashtami Chandra Dey is a resident of Kachua upazila area of Chandpur. It is known that she has two children.

Araihazar Police Station OC Md. Sabzel Hossain said that since there is no complaint from the family of the deceased, no other legal action including an autopsy can be taken in this regard.