In Sirajdikhan, Munshiganj, police recovered the body of four-year-old Toyaba with her throat slit and eyes gouged out. Her father, Golap Hossain (35), died while under treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital from injuries sustained in the same attack.
The case adds to a pattern of extreme violence, land-related hostility, and apparent breakdown in order that has intensified in recent months following the 2024 political changeover, a period in which rule of law has been widely described as largely absent.
The body was found on Thursday morning (29 October) around 9 a.m. on abandoned land near the Molla Bricks brick kiln in Ramkrishnadi village under Latabdi union. According to police and local sources, Toyaba had gone with her father on Wednesday afternoon to her grandfather’s house. The family alleges that the pair was attacked on the way back. Golap Hossain returned home bloodied, but the child could not be found. The following morning, residents discovered the body and alerted police via the national emergency number 999.
The child’s body showed severe injuries consistent with a slit throat and eyes that had been gouged out. Golap Hossain was initially taken to Swadesh Hospital in the Abdullahpur area of Keraniganj before being transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he died around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. Police initially assessed the cause of death as sharp-weapon injuries combined with possible poisoning.
Toyaba’s mother, Shiuli Begum, told police that the family had an ongoing land dispute with a neighbor named Sohrab and several others, with related cases already pending. She alleged that the attack on her husband and daughter may have stemmed from this conflict. Golap Hossain’s family home was in Ramkrishnadi village, though he and his wife and children had been living at his in-laws’ house in Dosorpara village in the same union.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Md. Anwar Parvez of Sirajdikhan Circle said the child’s body has been sent for autopsy. Several individuals have been taken to the station for questioning, and an investigation is underway to identify those involved. Police stated that the identities of the attackers and the precise motive cannot be confirmed until the probe is complete, and that legal action will be taken.
The extreme nature of the injuries—particularly to a young child—and the father’s subsequent death have drawn attention amid broader reports of brutal killings, personal and property disputes turning violent, and instances of mob or retaliatory violence in Bangladesh in the months since the 2024 changeover. Local residents and the victim’s family have pointed to unresolved land conflicts as the immediate trigger, while the wider context of weakened institutional enforcement continues to be cited by observers as enabling such acts.