Home
+
Published : 13 Jul 2026, 03:14 PM
Twenty-five years ago, Bobi Begum, aka Wahida Begum, left her home after an argument. Now, all these years later, her siblings – all of whom are speech impaired - have found their sister. Unfortunately, they were only reunited after her death.
Late on the night of Jul 4, the 70-year-old speech-impaired Bobi was attacked inside an abandoned room at Methikanda Railway Station in Narsingdi’s Raipura.
Although she received medical treatment for her critical injuries, she died on Jul 8 while being taken to Narsingdi Sadar Hospital. A case regarding the incident was filed at Bhairab Railway Police Station on Thursday.
Meanwhile, members of the elderly woman's family finally arrived from Bogura and visited her grave. On Sunday afternoon, emotional scenes unfolded as relatives broke down in tears while praying at her grave in Nurpur Cemetery, adjacent to Methikanda Railway Station.
Thirteen members of the family, including three of Bobi's siblings, travelled by microbus from Bogura early on Sunday morning and arrived at Methikanda Station around 3:30pm. They then visited her grave.
Three speech-impaired siblings—Anisur Rahman Pramanik, Ansar Ali Pramanik, and Fatema Begum were present. Another brother and two sisters were unable to attend due to illness.
Bobi was the eldest daughter of Rahim Uddin Pramanik and Anisa Bibi of Ghon Sagatia village in Ward No. 8 of Rameshwarpur Union in Bogura’s Gabtali Upazila. About 25 years ago, she left home after an argument with one of her younger sisters.
When asked why the family had not been in contact with Bobi before her death, her younger sister's son-in-law, Saikat Islam, said:
"You have to understand the situation 25 years ago. At that time, except for one brother, all six of her other siblings were speech-impaired. That one brother searched for her for years across Bogura and the nearby districts.
"After searching for three years without finding any trace of her, the family eventually lost hope. When that brother later passed away, there was no one left who could continue the search. Altogether, nearly 20 people in our extended family are speech-impaired."
Family members said that both of Bobi's parents, Rahim Uddin Pramanik and Anisa Bibi, were also speech-impaired. Of their eight children, seven were born with speech impairments.
Three of the siblings, including Bobi, have since died. The remaining five siblings are all speech-impaired. Bobi's husband died just one and a half years after their marriage, and their only daughter died shortly after her birth. She then returned to live at her parents' home.
About 25 years ago, following an argument with one of her younger sisters, Bobi left home. Usually, after an argument, she would leave home in anger and stay with another sister before returning home. But she never came back. After a three-year search, the family gave up.
Recently, after seeing photographs circulating on social media, they realised that the elderly woman who had been killed at Methikanda Railway Station was their long-lost relative Bobi.
According to railway police and station authorities, about two decades ago, Bobi got off a train one day and took shelter at Methikanda Railway Station. She never left. An abandoned room at the station became her permanent home.
She earned a modest living by sweeping the platform, cleaning the station toilets, and doing other cleaning work. Railway staff, local residents, and regular passengers all knew her. Some gave her food, while others offered small amounts of money. Rather than spending most of it, she quietly saved it over the years.
On the night of the attack, several individuals entered her room and demanded the money she had saved. When she refused, they punched her in the face and assaulted her before fleeing with her savings. She was sent to the hospital for treatment and died under hospital care.
The following morning, Jul 5, her body was sent to the morgue at Narsingdi Sadar Hospital for a post-mortem. After the post-mortem examination, police handed her body over to the station authorities that night. Around 10pm, funeral prayers were held at the station entrance, after which she was buried in a nearby community cemetery.
The station master initially filed a robbery and assault case at Bhairab Railway Police Station on Jul 6. Following Bobi's death, the case was upgraded to a murder investigation.
Police have since arrested five suspects: Sakib Mia, 23, Ilias Mia, 35, Billal Mia, 25, Din Islam, 26, and Rifat Mia, 20.
On Sunday afternoon, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Belal Hossain of Narsingdi granted three days' remand for each of the accused, according to the investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Dilip Chandra Sarkar of the Narsingdi Railway Police Outpost.
Addressing criticism that the family had only come to see Bobi after her death because of her savings, Saikat said:
"Many people are saying that we only came now because we want her money. I want to make it clear that if she left behind any savings, they should be donated to local mosques, madrasas, or orphanages.”
"We do not want that money. After 25 years, we were finally able to visit her grave—that alone has brought us peace."
He added, "We are deeply grateful to the people of Methikanda Railway Station and the surrounding community. They looked after Bobi Begum when no one else could."
