Mahidul Islam Ripon, Dinajpur

Child Masfika Akhter Taspiya (9) went out with her stepfather Safiul Islam (40) to get her admitted to a madrasa. Instead of admitting her to a madrasa, her stepfather Safiul took her in a boat and threw her into the middle of the Karatoya River.

Before that, her stepfather Safiul had a big fight with Masfika's mother Liza. Angry because of the fight with her mother, the stepfather threw the child Taspiya into the middle of the river and killed her.

Police arrested him from Palashbari bus stand in Gaibandha early Thursday morning.

The arrested person is the son of Moslem Uddin of Bhornapara area of Ghoraghat upazila.

Earlier, on the night of August 17, locals saw the child's body floating in the Karatoya River adjacent to the Tongi Eidgah ground in Bhornapara upazila and informed the police. Later, the police went to the spot and recovered the body. Shafiul has been in hiding since Taspiya's death.

Dinajpur Ghoraghat Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shahidul Islam said that Safiul Islam, the stepfather of Taspiya, has been arrested in connection with the murder of the child. During initial interrogation, he confessed to his involvement in the murder. He confessed to killing Taspiya by throwing her into the river after getting angry over a quarrel with his mother. Taspiya's own father, Mominul Islam, has filed a complaint with the police station in this incident. Safiul was sent to court on Thursday.

It is worth noting that the life of the child Taspiya was also plagued by family tensions. In 2022, her mother Liza and father Mominul separated. After that, Taspiya lived with her father. Later, Liza married Safiul Islam. Around 2025, she brought Taspiya to her second husband without the knowledge of the family. Then, leaving the child with her step-grandparents, Liza and Safiul moved to Dhaka in search of a livelihood. Liza worked in a garment factory and Safiul drove a rickshaw. Due to the poverty-stricken family, the conflict between the husband and wife gradually increased. Safiul returned home from Dhaka on August 9.