Murder of Apratim

On 19 September 2026, police recovered the body of Ishayat Shahriar Apratim (), a 13-year-old seventh-grade student of Cumilla Border Guard Public School, from a wooded area in Lalmai Hill, Comilla Sadar South Upazila. Primary investigations found that Apratim was [...] for refusing to give away his mother's iPhone, which the [...] tried to snatch from him. His [...] sparked debate over the children's safety in Bangladesh.

Incident

According to family and official sources, Apratim went missing on 18 September afternoon after leaving his residence in the Kotbari area carrying his mother's iPhone. His body was found the following day with visible head injuries. Following an analysis of surveillance footage near Comilla University that showed him with a suspicious individual, local police detained a teenage suspect for questioning. The police initiated an investigation to determine the motive and apprehend those responsible. Apratim was the only child of Nahida Begum, an associate professor in the Department Of Bangla at Comilla University.

Investigation

In response to the discovery of the body, law enforcement launched a homicide investigation. Security camera footage from the Comilla University campus revealed Apratim in the company of an individual named Tuhin for nearly an hour prior to his disappearance. Based on this CCTV evidence, police initially detained Tuhin at approximately 15:30 (BST) on 19 September. As the investigation expanded later that evening, two additional individuals identified as Anas and Fahim were taken into custody around 19:00 BST and 19:30 BST, respectively, bringing the total number of detained suspects to three. Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Rakibul Islam of Comilla Sadar South Police Station confirmed that the suspect detentions were part of an ongoing police operation to examine their involvement in the [...].

On 20 September 2026, the Superintendent of Police (SP) in Cumilla, Md. Anisuzzaman, disclosed the detailed findings of the [...] investigation during an official press briefing. Following a general diary filed by the victim's father, K. M. Firoz Shahriar, law enforcement initiated an inquiry that led to the detention of four individuals: Saiful Islam Tuhin (19), Mozammel Hossain Fahad (15), Md. Kamrul Hasan (18), and Siam.

According to the police, the [...] was premeditated by Tuhin with The Primary motive of stealing the victim's iPhone. Investigators revealed that Apratim frequently met with the accused individuals to take photos and hang out while carrying his mother's smartphone. On 18 September, Tuhin lured Apratim to a secluded forest in the Sananda area of Lalmai Hill. When the perpetrators attempted to snatch the iPhone, Apratim resisted, resulting in a scuffle. During the confrontation, Tuhin, Fahad, and Kamrul struck Apratim with a bamboo stick, causing fatal injuries at the scene.

Reaction and assessment

On 20 September 2026, the Bangladeshi human rights organization Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) issued a statement expressing grave concern over child safety following Apratim's [...]. Citing data from January to August 2026, ASK reported that at least 36 missing children were found dead, while a total of 254 children lost their lives in various incidents across Bangladesh during that eight-month period of 2026.

Data from Bangladesh Police headquarters highlighted that 15,717 children were reported missing between January and July 2026. Although 13,679 children were successfully rescued, 2,038 remained unaccounted for during that timeframe. Officials noted that missing child figures might be distorted due to delays in updating resolution data. In response, ASK urged law enforcement agencies to conduct transparent and prompt investigations into Apratim's [...] and similar cases, while advocating for the establishment of a centralized national database to track missing child cases effectively.

See also

• 2026 Pallabi child [...] and [...] case, occurred four months before the incident and also involved underaged child
• [...] of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, 2016 [...] also occurred in Comilla