Two children strangled by 'stepbrother'

Two children were strangled to death allegedly by their stepbrother in Comilla city yesterday.

The dead are Mejbaul Haq Moni, 6, and Mehedi Hasan Joy, 8, sons of Abul Kalam of Dakshin Rasulpur area. They were kindergarten and class-I students at local Holy Child Ideal School.

Police, following primary investigation, suspect that the children were killed by their stepbrother Sofiul Islam alias Choton, a fourth year student at World University in the capital.

Sofiul was absconding.

Police, quoting locals, said the victims were the children of Kamal, a grocer, and his second wife Rekha Begum.

The couple were out visiting a relative around 10:00am yesterday and the children were at school.

Later, the victims returned home and fell asleep. Sofiul, who used to stay at the house occasionally, strangled them with a piece of rope and a towel and fled, claimed Kamal, the father.

Around 1:15pm, Sofiul's younger sister Sufia Akhtar, who also lives at the house and was sleeping in the other room, saw the bodies lying on the floor. She immediately called her father over the phone and informed him about the incident.

Kamal alleged that his first wife Rokeya Begum, mother of Sofiul, might have instigated the killings but could not say why she would do that.

Rokeya lives in Comilla and in Shariatpur.

Victims' neighbours alleged that Sofiul was a drug addict and he might have killed his stepbrothers for their father's properties.

Kamal, however, said he was not worth that much for somebody to go after his properties.

Visiting the spot, Abdullah Al Mamun, additional superintendent of police in Comilla, said they recovered a rope and a towel believed to have been used in the murders.

The bodies were sent to Comilla Medical College Hospital for autopsies.

Meanwhile, locals brought out a procession in Dakshin Rasulpur area, demanding exemplary punishment of the killer.