Published : 20 Sep 2026, 03:38 PM
Updated : 20 Sep 2026, 03:38 PM
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has vowed that the murder of Ishayat Shahriar Apratim, the son of Comilla University teacher Nahida Begum, will be tried quickly.
He said four people have been arrested over the incident and Nahida’s iPhone, which had been in Apratim’s possession at the time of his death, has also been recovered.
During a press briefing at the Secretariat on Sunday, Salahuddin said, "I hope we can complete this murder trial in a short time, as we did Ramisa's murder."
Thirteen-year-old Apratim was a seventh-grade student at the local Border Guard Public School. His mother is an associate professor of Bangla at the university.
He left his home in Kotbari on Friday afternoon with his mother’s iPhone, saying he was going to take photos with friends.
When he did not return, his father KM Firoz Shahriar filed a complaint with Cumilla Sadar South Police.
Apratim’s body was recovered around 1pm on Saturday near the Comilla University campus.
Police said there were signs of injury to his head. The iPhone he had taken with him was not found with the body.
At a briefing on Sunday, Home Minister Salahuddin said: "According to the latest, three people were arrested previously and one today. Four people have been arrested and they confessed to the crime."
The home minister speculated that two of the arrestees were over 18 years old, but that one could be younger.
He said, "Apratim knew them. They were friends, they used to hang out often."
The Cumilla police said the iPhone was recovered from the house of Tuhin, one of the people Apratim had gone out with that day.
Describing Tuhin as the “prime suspect”, the home minister said: "All evidence, including the mobile phone, has been found. They have confessed to the incident. Now police are working on other legal procedures, or whether they can record a statement under Section 164."
