Opratim killed in bid to snatch iPhone: SP

Three people have been arrested in connection with the killing, while another person, identified as Siam, 19, has been detained and his alleged involvement is being verified, said Cumilla Superintendent of Police Md Anisuzzaman.

While briefing reporters at his office in the afternoon, the SP said Opratim’s mobile phone was recovered from the house of prime suspect Saiful Islam Tuhin, which helped investigators piece together the alleged sequence of events.

According to police, CCTV footage showed Tuhin accompanying Opratim to an isolated, hilly area in Sananda around 3:15pm on September 18.

Following the recovery of Opratim’s body on Saturday, police took Tuhin into custody after identifying him from the CCTV footage.

During interrogation, Tuhin told police that he took the schoolboy to the area intending to snatch his mobile phone, the SP said.

He said based on information provided by Tuhin, police later took Mozammel Hossain Fahad into custody. During interrogation, Fahad disclosed the involvement of his friend Md Kamrul Hasan, following which police also took Kamrul into custody.

Anisuzzaman said they later recovered Opratim’s mobile phone from Tuhin’s house based on information provided by him.

According to the preliminary investigation, an attempt was made to snatch Opratim’s mobile phone between 5:00pm and 6:00pm on September 18 in the Sananda area.

“When Opratim resisted, a scuffle broke out. At one stage, Tuhin first struck Opratim on the head with a bamboo stick, followed by Fahad and Kamrul,” the SP said, adding that he died from the blows.

After Opratim’s death, Tuhin took his mobile phone and left the scene with Fahad and Kamrul, he said.

Details about Farhad were withheld as he is a minor.

Siam, 19, has also been detained, and police are examining the information and evidence gathered regarding his alleged involvement.

A murder case was filed against the arrested suspects, police said.

They are also investigating whether anyone else was involved in the killing and said a police report will be submitted to the court after completion of the investigation.

Opratim, the only son of Dr Nahida Begum, an associate professor of the Department of Bangla at Cumilla University, and KM Firoz Shahriar, was found dead in a jungle in the Sananda area on Saturday, reports UNB.

He was buried at the family graveyard in Kotbari on Sunday.