Barguna Dak Bungalow Deaths of Mother and Two Daughters: Police Cite Tk 407,723 Debt Pressure as Possible Cause

Police have reported progress in the investigation into the recovery of the bodies of a mother and her two daughters from two separate rooms of the Barguna Zila Parishad dak bungalow. Police claim the mother, Iti Rani (34), had been suffering from depression over a total debt of Tk 407,723 taken from various NGOs and individuals and the worry of repaying it.

ASP (Administration and Finance) Mukit Hasan Khan gave the information at a press conference held at the Barguna Superintendent of Police's office on Thursday afternoon (29 October). In the preliminary investigation, police suspect that under debt pressure Iti Rani killed her two daughters, Aradhya Biswas (12) and Anuradha Biswas (3), and then took her own life.

Police said Iti Rani married Dulal Chandra Biswas, a resident of the Koraitala area of Barguna municipality, about 15 years ago. They had two daughters. Dulal Chandra Biswas ran a small tailor's shop alongside a betel nut business, but meeting the family's needs on his limited income had become difficult.

To improve the family's financial condition and help her husband's business, Iti Rani took loans of Tk 227,723 from five local NGOs. In addition, her husband borrowed Tk 80,000 from an NGO and another Tk 100,000 from two individuals. In total, their debt stood at Tk 407,723.

According to police, although most NGO instalments were being paid regularly, Iti Rani was worried about repaying the entire loan. Hoping for extra income for the family, she had started working as a cleaner at the Zila Parishad dak bungalow about two months before the incident. However, the investigation found she had become mentally depressed due to debt pressure and financial uncertainty.

According to police sources, on 3 June at around 11am Iti Rani went to the dak bungalow with her two daughters. Around midday, other staff saw the door of a room on the building's third floor locked from inside. They then informed police. Police went there and recovered the body of the elder daughter Aradhya Biswas from one room, and the bodies of Iti Rani and younger daughter Anuradha Biswas from another room.

After the bodies of the mother and two daughters were recovered in the same incident, various discussions and questions arose in the area. Mystery also surrounded whether it was murder or suicide. Later, on 9 June, Iti Rani's husband Dulal Chandra Biswas filed a case at Barguna Police Station naming unknown persons as accused.

While investigating the case, police learned about the loans taken by Iti Rani and her husband from various NGOs and individuals. In the preliminary investigation, district police cited mental stress caused by the debt as the possible cause of the incident.

At the press conference, ASP Mukit Hasan Khan said Iti Rani's husband owns no land and they have no son. He said the preliminary investigation suggests Iti Rani had been suffering from mental anxiety due to her husband's financial insolvency and loans taken from various NGOs, and that she may have decided to take her own life for these reasons.

Police said, however, that the investigation of the case is still ongoing. It was announced at the press conference that a police report will be submitted to the court very soon.