Bogura house fire kills ‘mentally unstable’ woman, daughter

Police suspect it is a case of an attempted murder-suicide

A woman with “psychological issues” and her daughter have been killed in a house fire in Bogura’s Kahaloo Upazila.

The incident took place around 7am on Friday, said Kahaloo Police chief Shafiqul Islam.

The dead are Sonia Khatun, 29, wife of Nizam Uddin, and their 10-year-old daughter Meha Moni.

Shafiqul said the incident may have been an attempt to commit suicide, and the deaths are under investigation.

Quoting relatives, Shafiqul said Sonia was “mentally ill”, and had been divorced twice previously.

She had been staying with her daughter in her father's house for a long time, he said.

Sonia's mother and sister-in-law were reportedly busy cooking in the front yard of the house when the incident took place. They suddenly saw a fire in the house and called the Fire Service, which rushed to the scene to douse it.

Sonia died on the spot due to burns from the fire. However, Moni was rescued with burn wounds and taken to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital.

She later succumbed to her injuries around 12pm while undergoing treatment.

The police officer said they inspected the spot, where firefighters initially smelled kerosene.