Police are confident that Fardin Iftekhar Dihan alone was responsible for the rape and murder of the O level student at his residence in Dhaka's Kalabagan area, but they are still waiting for the arrival of the DNA test results.
DNA samples and swabs were collected for laboratory tests on Friday and it will take two or three days to get the results, they said.
Police said Dihan had a plan and intentionally called the victim to his house. He had admitted that he had developed a friendly relationship with the girl “which may turn into a love affair.”
Abul Hasan, assistant commissioner (New Market Zone) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said Dihan had already confessed before a Dhaka Court.
“But we cannot reveal the full details before the press as this is a matter currently under investigation,” he added.
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“The meeting at the residence was upon mutual understanding, but she was raped,” he further said, mentioning there was no evidence of a third person during the incident at the flat.
“However, the DNA test result will ascertain if Dihan was alone or not.”
He said that police were looking for the caretaker of the apartment. “We are not saying that he was certainly involved. But he could be a reliable source for the happenings of the day outside the flat. He saw the victim enter the flat and exit as well.”
What were the role of Dihan’s friends?
Police said Dihan’s three friends rushed to the hospital after he called them and asked for their help.
“We have checked their call list and tracked down the locations of their mobile phones at that time. Our findings match with what Dihan said in his confessional statement. We have seized the cell phones as well,” Abul Hasan told Dhaka Tribune.
Also Read - O Level student death: Dihan confesses to charges, sent to jail
DMP Deputy Commissioner of Ramna Division Sazzadur Rahman said the three friends rushed to the hospital from their homes in two different areas.
“The areas were near to the hospital. They responded to Dihan’s call for help,” he said.
They got to know the details of the incident from Dihan at the hospital.
“We have strong evidence that the girl was raped. She died of excessive bleeding,” the police official concluded.
Dihan’s family ashamed, not defending him in court
Family members of Dihan said they were ashamed as allegations of rape and murder have been brought against him.
Dihan spoke to his brother over the phone three times after the incident. After the last call, he has not spoken with his family.
His family members have not gone to the police station or court, nor did they appoint a lawyer for Dihan’s defence, reports Bangla Tribune.
"If the trial proves Dihan is guilty, we will accept the verdict,” Dihan's mother Sanjida Sarkar said.
She further said that many newspapers were making objectionable comments regarding Dihan’s family and even their relatives did not respond when the family tried to contact them.
“The autopsy report will prove whether he is guilty or not, but our family should not be punished for this,” she said.
Also Read - Case filed on charges of rape, murder of O Level student
“No one is showing up. The media is blaming our whole family. How did our whole family commit a crime here?” she questioned.
On Thursday, the victim was reportedly raped at Dihan’s empty house in Dhaka's Kalabagan area and pronounced dead on arrival at a private hospital. Forensic experts at Dhaka Medical College said the victim died due to haemorrhagic shock and excessive bleeding.
On Thursday night, the victim’s father filed a case with Kalabagan police station against Dihan, who claims to recently have passed his A-level examinations.
According to the case statement, the victim left her house at around 11:45am on Thursday, when she told her mother over the phone that she was going to a coaching class.
Dihan called the victim's mother at 1:18pm and said her daughter had gone to his house in the Kalabagan area, where she had fallen sick. He told the victim’s mother to go to the emergency department of Anwer Khan Modern Hospital as her daughter had been taken there.
The parents of the victim learnt later that Dihan had asked their daughter to go to his flat, which was empty as his family members were out at the time, it said.
‘Not picking up call was the biggest mistake’
While detailing the incident, the victim’s father said that he received a call from his daughter’s phone around 12:19pm on Thursday.
“Since I was in a meeting, I hung up the call and did not call again. Later, my wife called me and let me know about my daughter. Not picking up the call was a grave mistake,” he told Bangla Tribune on Sunday.
He said: “Maybe when my daughter was being forced, she called me. Had I received the call, the matter would not have progressed this far. After I didn’t pick up the call, my wife was called. However, whether it was from the hospital or that house, I do not know. When I reached the hospital, the doctors told me she was dead on arrival.
“It could be that she was obstructed by these boys when she was heading towards her coaching centre and she had tried to call me,” he added.