A woman was asphyxiated in a house at Roufabad in the port city on Saturday.

The deceased was identified as Parveen Akter, 36, the wife of Dubai expatriate Nurul Alam of Roufabad Paharika residential area in the city.

Parveen along with her 12-year-old son Md Syeed, a fifth grader, used to live on the 2nd floor of their six-storey building, said Parveen's nephew  Majed Bin Yunus.

Minutes after Syeed's home tutor left their apartment around 9:00pm, three youths suddenly entered it, and locked the door from inside.

They caught Syeed, and asphyxiated Parveen when she headed towards her son, Majed quoted Sayeed as saying.

They left the house keeping Syeed locked in the bathroom, Majed added.

Coming out of the bathroom by breaking its door down, Syeed informed his aunt, who was living on the 1st floor of the same building, of the incident.

Later, Parveen was rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where the on-duty doctors said she was brought dead to the hospital, Majed said.

Contacted, Mohammad Mohsin, officer-in-charge of Bayezid Bostami police, said the trio might have entered the house to rob, and strangled her when she began screaming.

They also took away gold ornaments and Tk 5,000, the OC said, quoting the deceased's son. Police probe is underway in this connection.