Police have recovered the decomposed bodies of a woman and her teenage daughter from a tutor's flat in Keraniganj, nearly three weeks after they went missing.

The victims were identified as Rokeya Begum, 32, and her daughter Fatema, 14, an eighth-grade student. Their bodies were recovered on Thursday night from a flat in the Muktirbagh area under Keraniganj Model Police Station.

Police said the two were allegedly killed following a dispute over repayment of an NGO loan.

Confirming the incident, Sub-Inspector Rony of Keraniganj Model Police Station told The Business Standard that an abduction case filed earlier over the disappearance of the mother and daughter has now been converted into a murder case.

Police said four people were initially taken into custody for questioning on Thursday night. Later, tutor Mim Begum, 22, and her 15-year-old younger sister, were shown arrested in the case.

"The accused were sent to court today (16 January), and Mim Begum gave a confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure," he said.

Police and family members said Fatema left her home around 5:00pm on 25 December to attend tuition at the flat. She completed her class around 6:40pm and left the house. Around the same time, her mother Rokeya also left their home and did not return.

As the mother and daughter failed to return, Rokeya's husband, Shaheen Ahmed, filed a general diary with police on 26 December. When efforts to trace them failed, he later filed an abduction case against unidentified persons on 6 January.

Officer-in-Charge M Saiful Alam said police responded to a call to the national emergency service 999 around 9:00pm after local residents reported a foul smell coming from a second-floor flat of a five-storey building in the area.

"Police broke open the door and recovered Rokeya's body from inside a box bed and Fatema's body from the bathroom ceiling. Both bodies were wrapped in cloth," the OC added.

dead body / murder / Keraniganj / Bangladesh