Bangladesh man 'craving for son' burns 9-month old daughter alive

Police have launched a manhunt for a suspect who has allegedly burnt his 9-month old daughter alive in Narayanganj's Sonargaon.

Jahirul Islam, the father, could not accept her as he had been longing for a boy, his wife alleged.

There are two other accused in a case started on Friday evening over the killing of the baby girl, who was called by a single name - Jannatul.

However, the identities of the other suspects were not immediately available.

The plaintiff, Jannatul's maternal grandmother Sajia Begum, alleged in the case that Jahirul killed Jannatul because "he wanted a son, not a daughter."   

The girl was burnt at Jahirul's house at Pakunda in Jampur Union last Sunday and died around 2am on Friday.     

Sajia said her daughter 'Kulsum' married Jahirul, an electrician, in November last year.

After Kulsum gave birth to the baby girl nine months ago, he asked Kulsum to send the girl to her parent's house in Comilla, saying that he wanted a boy.

The couple had been fighting over the issue since the birth of the girl.

Around 11:30pm last Sunday, Jahirul set Jannatul on fire after pouring petrol on her body when she was asleep.

Kulsum also suffered burn injuries as she tried to save her daughter.

She told bdnews24.com that Jahirul turned the fan on at the time to let the fire spread, and stopped her from helping her daughter.

Jahirul then did not let the others take the girl to a hospital. Instead, he called a 'Kabiraj' or village Ayurvedic doctor to treat her.

"He beat me up several times after taking drugs," Kulsum said.

Her mother Sajia also alleged that Jahirul had taken Tk 100,000 as dowry from them.

Sonargaon Police Station OC Morshed Alam said police were trying to arrest the suspects.

The girl's body will be autopsied.

"We've come to know that the incident occurred following a family quarrel and Jahirul is a drug addict," he said.

He also said police were also checking whether the motive mentioned in the case was true.