River police have recovered the half-decomposed body of an unidentified man from the Padma River near Ghorador Bazar in Louhajang upazila of Munshiganj. Police in Gazipur later confirmed that the body was that of Forkan, the prime suspect in the killing of five people, including his wife, three children and brother-in-law, in Gazipur.
Elias, in-charge of the Mawa River Police Outpost, said police recovered the body on Saturday afternoon after receiving information from local residents. Police later informed authorities in Kapasia, Gazipur, following which the complainant in the case, family members of the deceased and the investigating officer suspected the body to be that of Forkan.
The river police official added that the identity would be fully confirmed through fingerprint analysis or, if that is not possible due to the body’s decomposed condition, through DNA testing.
It may be recalled that on Saturday morning (May 9), police recovered the bodies of five people from a multi-storey house in Rautkona village of Kapasia. The deceased were identified as Sharmin Khanam, 30, daughter of Shahadat Hossain Molla of Paikkandi village in Gopalganj Sadar; her daughters Mim Khanam, 15, Umme Habiba, 8, and Faria, aged one and a half; and her brother Rasul Molla, 23. Sharmin was the wife of Forkan Molla, while Mim, Habiba and Faria were their children. Rasul was Sharmin’s younger brother.
Meanwhile, at a press briefing held at the office of the Gazipur Superintendent of Police on Thursday (May 14), SP Sharif Uddin said police had recovered the mobile phone used by fugitive suspect Forkan Molla in connection with the killing of five people, including his wife and children, in Kapasia.
The phone was recovered from Meherpur Sadar police station area on Monday (May 11). At around 6:50am that day, a truck helper reportedly found the phone lying beside the railing in the middle of the Padma Bridge and picked it up before travelling to Meherpur. Police later recovered it with the help of information technology.
However, Forkan’s body had not been found at the time.
The police superintendent said the helper told investigators he had found the phone on the Padma Bridge. Police immediately visited the bridge and reviewed CCTV footage, which showed an individual getting out of a private car. After stepping out, the person placed a mobile phone and bag near the railing and waited for around one and a half to two minutes. At approximately 6:45am on the day of the incident, the individual climbed onto the railing and jumped into the river.
“However, we could not confirm whether the person who jumped was Forkan. We identified the private car through CCTV footage and also spoke to the driver,” he said.
Police suspect that after allegedly killing five people in a premeditated manner, Forkan jumped into the Padma River from the Padma Bridge with the intention of taking his own life.