Six people have been arrested over the death of 70-year-old speech-impaired woman Bobi Begum, who was brutally assaulted and robbed at Methikanda Railway Station in Raipura upazila of Narsingdi, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-11 said.
RAB-11 Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Masud Parvez confirmed the arrests on Friday.
The elite force did not immediately disclose the identities of those arrested, saying further details would be revealed at a press briefing scheduled for Friday afternoon at the RAB Media Centre in Karwan Bazar in the capital.
According to police and local residents, Bobi Begum was sleeping in an abandoned room at Methikanda Railway Station at around 2am last Saturday when a group of assailants entered the room, assaulted her, and looted the money she had saved over many years.
She suffered severe injuries to her eyes, face, and other parts of her body in the attack.
Bobi Begum fell critically ill at around 11:30pm on Tuesday and was first taken to Raipura Upazila Health Complex. As her condition worsened, she was referred to Narsingdi Sadar Hospital but died on the way.
Police said her body was sent to the Narsingdi Sadar Hospital morgue on Wednesday morning for an autopsy. After the examination, the body was handed over to the railway station authorities at around 8pm before she was buried following her namaz-e-janaza held at 10pm.
Station authorities and local residents said Bobi Begum had been living at Methikanda Railway Station for nearly two decades after getting off a train there. The abandoned room at the station was her only shelter.
She cleaned the station platform and toilets without pay and survived on food and small financial assistance from railway staff and local residents.