Elderly woman found with throat slit at her Jessore home; deeds, gold and cash reported missing

Police have recovered the throat-slit body of an elderly woman named Achia Begum (75) from her own home in Abhaynagar upazila of Jessore. The body was recovered on Tuesday (20 October) morning from her house at Ramnagar village under Siddhipasha union of the upazila.

The late Achia Begum was the wife of the late Abu Daud Sheikh of the village. She had been living in the house with one of her sisters.

Her daughter Panna Begum said her mother and aunt had been living together in the house since her father's death. On Monday (19 October), her aunt went to visit one of her daughters, leaving her mother alone in the house that night.

Panna Begum said neighbours called out to her mother on Tuesday morning. Hearing no response from inside, they went to check and found her body, with her throat slit, lying on the bed. Police arrived on being informed and recovered the body.

She added: 'When I came in the morning, I saw my mother's body with her throat slit lying on the bed. Everything inside the house was ransacked. The land deeds, gold ornaments and cash — nothing could be found. They killed my mother and took everything.'

Family members alleged that the household items were found in a ransacked state and that the land deeds, gold ornaments and cash were missing. Looking at the state of the room, relatives believe the house had been searched before the murder.

Local people suspect that someone may have entered the house to steal. When the elderly woman woke up, the intruders killed her and fled with the valuables. However, the motive for the murder and the matter of the missing property have not yet been confirmed.

Officer-in-charge (OC) of Abhaynagar police station Md Nuruzzaman said the throat-slit body of an elderly woman had been recovered from the bed inside her own room. Police have started investigating the incident and are collecting possible evidence. Details cannot be disclosed at this moment in the interest of the investigation.

The OC also said arrangements were being made to send the body to the morgue of Jessore General Hospital for autopsy. Further legal steps in the incident are under process.

The incident has raised concern in the area over the safety of elderly people living alone. Local residents say families and neighbours need to be more alert about the security of elderly people who stay alone at night.

Police have collected evidence from the spot and are talking to people in the neighbourhood. The investigation to identify the killers is continuing, police said.

It is expected that the autopsy report will give a clearer picture of the nature of the murder. Any new development in the investigation will be reported.