O-level student ‘rape, murder’: Court seeks probe report by 11 Feb

A Dhaka court has asked police to submit the investigation report in the case filed against Fardin Iftekhar Dihan over the alleged rape and murder of an "O" level student in the capital's Kalabagan area, by 11 February.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Begum Yasmin Ara on Tuesday set the new date after hearing a time petition filed by police.

The investigation officer (IO) of the case sought more time as he failed to submit the probe report today.

Sub-Inspector (SI) Swapan Kumar, general recording officer (GRO) of the court, confirmed the matter to the media.

AFM Asaduzzaman, the IO of the case and also an inspector of Kalabagan Police Station, told The Business Standard that "We have yet to receive DNA and autopsy reports. That's why police have sought more time to submit the probe report.''

On 8 January, Dihan, the lone accused in the case, voluntarily confessed in the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mamunur Rashid.

On the night of 7 January, the victim's father filed a case with the Kalabagan Police Station against Dihan for raping and killing the schoolgirl.

According to the case statement, the victim's mother left the family residence for work at around 8.30 am on 7 January. An hour later, her father left home on business.

At around 11:45 am, the victim, an "O" level student of Dhanmondi's Mastermind School, called her mother to say she was going to a coaching class to collect some worksheets.

She left the house on the morning of 7 January after receiving a mobile call from her friend Dihan who then took her to his home in Dolphin Alley of Kalabagan, where she was allegedly raped and murdered.

At 1:18pm, Dihan called the victim's mother and told her that her daughter had gone to his house and had fallen ill.

Dihan asked her mother to go to the emergency department of Anwer Khan Modern Hospital, where her daughter had been taken.

When the victim's mother reached the hospital, the on-duty doctor told her that her daughter had been murdered after the rape, the case statement said.