Bangladesh: Man kills wife and two children over debt and poverty before committing suicide

Darwin, 15 August – Police have recovered the bodies of four members of the same family in Paba Upazila of Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

Around 9:00 am on Friday, law enforcement recovered the bodies from their home in the Bamon Shikhor area of Parila Union in the upazila.

The deceased have been identified as the head of the household, Minarul Islam; his wife, Monira Begum; their son, Mahim; and one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Mithila. Mahim was an eighth-grade student at Kharkhari High School.

Locals said that the bodies of the mother and daughter were recovered from the north room, while the father and son were found in the south room. Minarul’s body was discovered hanging from a ceiling fan.

OC Abdul Malek of Motihar Police Station said that the incident is believed to have occurred due to mental distress and debt. The bodies have been sent to the morgue at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital for autopsy.

Police also said they recovered a letter from the scene. In the letter, Minarul wrote:

> “We four are leaving this world; we will not meet again. Khoda Hafez. I, Minarul, will now write what I have to say. Everything is my own. We are dying together for this reason—no one is to blame for our deaths.
I killed everyone with my own hands because if I died alone, then my wife, son, and daughter would have no hope in life. They would get nothing but pain and suffering. We are dying because of debt and lack of food. I can no longer bear so much pain. So, dying is better than living. No one will have to ask for anything because of me. My father has already been humiliated before many people because of me; he won’t have to face that again. We are leaving forever. I want everyone to stay well. Thank you.”

Minarul’s father-in-law, Abdul Malek, said that Minarul was a farmer and had debts. They lived in a mud house.