iPhone theft cited as motive, 4 held

Thirteen-year-old Ishayat Shahriar Apratim was buried in Cumilla on Sunday amid grief and public anger, as authorities assured his family and protesters that those responsible for his murder would be brought to justice swiftly. 
Four people have been held in connection with the killing, while police say a planned attempt to steal his iPhone was the suspected motive.
Apratim, the only son of Cumilla University Associate Professor Dr Nahida Begum and KM Firoz Shahriar, was buried at Gandhamati Boro Graveyard in Kotbari after two namaz-e-janazas. 
The first was held at Cumilla University at 10am, followed by a second prayer at his home at 11am. He was buried at about 11:30am.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said that the investigation report would be submitted quickly, citing the handling of the murder of eight-year-old Ramisa in Pallabi as a precedent.
At an emergency press conference at the Secretariat on Sunday, the minister praised police for recovering Apratim’s body within 24 hours and detaining suspects within 12 hours. 
Three people had been arrested and another taken into custody for questioning.
The home minister said the suspects had confessed and that legal proceedings were under way. 
Police have also recovered Apratim’s phone and other evidence, while forensic analysis is continuing.  The post-mortem examination was completed before the burial.
According to Cumilla police, the killing followed a pre-planned attempt to snatch Apratim’s expensive iPhone. 
The boy had gone to the Sananda area of Lalmai Hill with acquaintances, who allegedly took him into a remote forest between about 5pm and 6pm on Friday.
Police said Apratim resisted when they tried to take his phone, leading to a scuffle. They allege that Saiful Islam Tuhin, 19, followed by two 15-year-old boys, Fahad and Kamrul, struck him repeatedly on the head with a heavy bamboo stick. 
The three then allegedly fled with the phone.

Cumilla Superintendent of Police Md Anisuzzaman gave the account at a press conference on Sunday afternoon, based on statements from the suspects.
Police said CCTV footage led them to Tuhin, a former first-year student of Cumilla City College who dropped out after failing in 2025.  During interrogation, he allegedly led investigators to Fahad and Kamrul, ninth-grade students at Mainamati Technical School and College.
Mohammad Siam, 19, a second-year student of Abdal Khan Degree College, was also taken into custody for questioning.
Apratim’s father filed a murder case against unidentified accused at Sadar Dakshin police station shortly after midnight on Saturday.
According to the SP, Tuhin initially provided false information about the stolen phone, prompting searches at three locations. He later admitted that the phone was at his home, where police recovered it.
Anisuzzaman described the relationship between Apratim and the accused as an “unequal friendship”, noting that Apratim was a class seven student while the older youths were not his classmates and were involved in what police described as unruly activities.
He said police were checking whether anyone else was involved or whether there was another motive. Investigators would complete the case and submit a charge sheet, he said, adding that they would seek a speedy disposal of the case.
Meanwhile, thousands of Cumilla University students blocked the Dhaka-Chattogram highway at Bishwaroad around noon on Sunday, demanding swift justice and stronger security. 
The blockade caused a long traffic tailback.
The students placed four demands: withdrawal of the Cumilla SP and the OCs of Adarsha Sadar and Sadar South police stations; establishment of a permanent police outpost at Cumilla University; completion of Apratim’s murder trial and execution of the death sentence within 60 days; and stronger law-and-order measures, including an immediate response unit for missing people.
Apratim left home around noon on Friday with his mother’s iPhone, telling his family he was going to take photographs with friends. Nearly 22 hours later, police recovered his body from the Sananda forest in Lalmai Hill near Cumilla University.
A class seven student at Border Guard Public School in Kotbari, Apratim lived with his parents in Ward 24 of Cumilla Sadar South.
After his first janaza, his father said Apratim was his only son and had grown up in Cumilla surrounded by the affection of its people. 
He called for a fair trial, saying he trusted the judicial system and believed justice would be delivered.
At the press conference, the home minister also said authorities needed to ensure that perpetrators of serious crimes were brought to justice. 
He linked a number of crimes to drugs and gambling and stressed the importance of motivational programmes, sports and cultural activities for children.