A 3½-year-old boy was found with his throat cut and his body stuffed inside a sack in a pond in Shariatpur on Saturday, about six hours after he went missing while playing near his home.
The child, Soaif Hossain, was the son of Selim Sardar and Shimuli of Paschim Adason in Sidhal Kura Union of Damudya Upazila.
Police recovered the body around 1 p.m. from a pond behind the home of Abu Alem Shikdar in the same area.
Police and local sources said Soaif went outside to play around 7 a.m. Saturday and disappeared. His family searched for him in different places but could not find him.
The family then informed police. Police and Fire Service personnel joined the search and eventually found the boy’s body inside a sack in the pond.
The child’s relatives alleged that the killing stemmed from a dispute between the family and a neighbor the previous evening.
According to the family, an argument broke out Friday evening between Soaif’s grandmother and their neighbor Ali Akbar Shikdar over a minor issue.
The family alleged that members of Ali Akbar’s family killed the child in retaliation for the dispute, put his body in a sack and dumped it in the pond.
Police had not established the allegation as the motive for the killing, and an investigation was underway.
The boy’s father, Selim Sardar, said his mother told him about the dispute Friday night. He said he went to the market Saturday morning and returned to find his son missing.
Selim then went to the police station and filed a general diary over the disappearance.
Police and firefighters searched the area and later recovered his son’s body from the pond behind Ali Akbar’s house, he said.
Selim accused the neighboring family of killing his son and demanded justice.
Angry residents later set fire to Ali Akbar’s house following the discovery of the body.
Police also detained Ali Akbar’s son, Russell Shikdar, in connection with the incident.
Members of the accused family were not at their home after the incident and could not immediately be reached for comment.
Additional Superintendent of Police Shamsul Arefin of the Gosairhat Circle said police recovered the child’s body after receiving information about the incident.
He said police were investigating the killing and would bring those responsible to justice.
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