Saudi-based Bangladeshi killed and dismembered over ‘affair’ in Dhaka, says RAB

A Saudi Arabia-based Bangladeshi man who returned to Dhaka last week was allegedly drugged, killed and dismembered over a dispute linked to an extramarital affair, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) says.

According to it, the victim, 38-year-old Mokarram Mia, was murdered in Dhaka’s Mugda and his body was cut into eight pieces.

RAB identified Mokarram using fingerprint analysis after recovering his dismembered remains from a garbage dump in Mugda’s Manda on Sunday.

Following the gruesome discovery, the elite force arrested a woman named Helena Begum and her 13-year-old daughter.

Detailing the incident at a press briefing held at the RAB-3 headquarters on Monday afternoon, Squadron Leader Md Saidur Rahman said Mokarram had been involved in an extramarital relationship with a woman named Taslima Akhtar, the wife of another expatriate from his hometown.

Mokarram arrived in Dhaka from Saudi Arabia on May 13 and went straight to a rented apartment in Manda, which belongs to Helena, a close friend of Taslima.

Helena lived in the one-room flat with her daughter.

Upon learning of Mokarram's arrival, Taslima travelled from Brahmanbaria to join him at the flat that same day.

According to police, financial transactions had taken place between Mokarram and Taslima during the course of their relationship, and "intimate" photos and videos had been recorded.

Arguments broke out at the flat when Mokarram pressured Taslima into marriage.

"When Taslima refused, Mokarram demanded the return of Tk 500,000 he had given her and threatened to leak their intimate photos and videos online. Helena also claimed that Mokarram had attempted to rape her teenage daughter," Saidur said.

On the morning of May 14, the friends laced his food with sleeping pills.

Once he became drowsy, they initially tried to suffocate him with a pillow.

Struggle ensued as Mokarram resisted in a semi-conscious state.

The suspects then repeatedly struck him with a hammer and a kitchen knife to ensure his death.

Following the murder, they dragged the body into the bathroom and severed it into eight pieces.

RAB officials said that the suspects packed the dismembered body parts into polythene bags and burlap sacks before dumping them at a nearby garbage heap at night.

The severed head was discarded further away to conceal his identity.

The suspects behaved normally the next day, walking around the neighbourhood and even hosting a small gathering with food on the building's rooftop.

Two days later, a foul odour emanating from the rubbish dump prompted local residents to alert the national emergency helpline 999.

Police subsequently recovered Mokarram’s dismembered torso and limbs.

Following the arrests of Helena and her daughter late on Sunday, law-enforcing officers recovered Mokarram's missing head based on information provided during interrogation.