Sitakunda murder case: 7yr-old victim dies in hospital; neighbour held
Police say arrestee tried to rape child before slitting her throat
4 March 2026, 03:12 AM
Police yesterday arrested a man in a case filed over the murder of a seven-year-old girl, who was found with her throat slit at Sitakunda eco park on Sunday.
The girl died at a Chattogram hospital yesterday. According to police, she was also subjected to attempted rape.
Addressing a press briefing at Sitakunda Model Police Station following the arrest, Chattogram Superintendent of Police Mohammed Nazir Ahmed Khan said the arrestee was identified as Babu Sheikh, 50, from Gaibandha’s Gobindaganj upazila. “He was a neighbour of the victim.”
Earlier, around 1:30am yesterday, the victim, Jannatun Nayema Ira, succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment at Chattogram Medical College Hospital’s intensive care unit, according to Dr Selim Kashem Chowdhury, an ENT consultant at the hospital.
Her body was sent to the morgue for autopsy.
On Sunday afternoon, the child was rescued with her throat slit on a hill inside the park by a group of labourers and rushed to the upazila health complex. The same day, her mother, Rokeya Begum, filed a case with Sitakunda Police Station against unidentified accused.
After being transferred to CMCH, she underwent a surgery on Sunday evening when doctors performed an emergency tracheostomy to help her breathe and inserted a tube to stabilise her airway. She then had a second surgery on Monday morning.
Her paternal uncle, Ramij Uddin, said she appeared to be stable when he left the hospital around 10:00pm that night. “She was doing well at that time.… Her condition suddenly deteriorated around 1:30am, and she died in the ICU.”
At the briefing, SP Nazir said Babu Sheikh had a prior feud with the victim’s father, Monir Hossain, which led to the incident.
“Babu Sheikh lured the girl with chocolate and took her to Sitakunda Eco Park from Kumira by bus. Later, he took her to the top of a hill and attempted to rape her there. When the victim started screaming and threatened to inform her family, he slit her throat with a sharp knife and left her there. … The girl managed to survive and walked while bleeding.
“After receiving the complaint, police began collecting CCTV footage from Kumira to Sitakunda and traced Babu. He was later arrested in Kumira. Police took him to the crime scene, where officers recovered the victim’s blood-stained trousers.”
The SP added, “Police seized the clothing as evidence. During primary interrogation, Babu admitted that he attempted to rape the girl but failed. We will cross-examine the victim’s samples with his DNA samples.
“During primary interrogation, the accused told police that he tried to rape the girl but failed. After receiving the forensic report, we will make an official statement.”
Contacted by The Daily Star, CMCH Director Brigadier General Taslim Uddin said, “Doctors found scratch marks near her genitals during the primary examination. Following due procedure, we will cross-match the accused’s DNA with the victim’s to confirm whether she was raped.”
