Former Eden College principal murdered at home by house helps, police suspect

Former Eden Mohila College principal Mahfuza Chowdhury Parveen has been found dead in her flat at Science Laboratory area in Dhaka in what police believe is a murder.

Police believe she had been suffocated and suspect two of the house helps, who have gone missing, are involved.

The body was lying on the bed in the duplex flat on storeys 15 and 16 of Sukonya Tower opposite Dhaka College on Mirpur Road on Sunday night, New Market Police Station OC Atiqur Rahman said.

There were signs of scuffle on the bed and a pillow on her face, the OC said.

“We suspect that the two house helps made off with valuables from an almirah after choking her to death with a pillow,” he added.

Mahfuza, 66, hails from Gopalganj. She lived in the flat with her husband Ismat Quadir Gama and three domestic helps in the flat.

Two of the domestic helps, both female aged between 30 and 35 years, were missing while the other, a woman in her 60s, was still in the flat, according to the OC.

Gama, a vice-chairman of the Muktijoddha Sangsad and former general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League, said he was not at home during the death of his wife.

He entered the flat through the door on the 15th floor after finding the one on the 16th floor closed around 7:30pm, Gama told reporters.

He saw his wife lying on the bed with her legs hanging from the side after the elderly house help, who was asleep in her room, opened the door, according to Gama.

He was quoted by bdnews24.com as saying, “Later I realised something was wrong. A huge amount of cash is gone from the almirah. The two house helps have also taken the mobile phone with which their photos were taken.

The elderly house help also said that she went to sleep as the two others had told her they would be on the watch.

The duo were brought from Kishoreganj and Shariatpur around two months ago through another woman in the building, Gama said.

OC Atiqur said police have identified the two and ate trying to arrest them.

Gama and Mahfuza have two sons who live separately. One of them is an army officer and the other a banker.