In a shocking and tragic incident, police in Dhaka have recovered the bodies of a mother and her teenage daughter from their apartment in the Mohammadpur area, while a domestic worker remains missing following the killings. The victims have been identified as Laila Afroz, 48, and her 15-year-old daughter, Nafisa Lawal Binte Aziz, a ninth-grade student. The pair were discovered lifeless in their home on Shahjahan Road, leaving the neighbourhood in mourning. Deputy Commissioner Md. Ibne Mizan of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Tejgaon Division said on Monday (8 December) that the bodies bore injuries inflicted by sharp weapons. “The domestic worker has not been found since the bodies were recovered,” he added, emphasising that a thorough investigation is underway. Mohammadpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mezbah Uddin said the killings likely occurred on Monday morning. The domestic worker had been employed by the family for only four to five days. A wardrobe in the apartment was found open, although it is not yet clear whether any valuables were stolen. Domestic Worker Identified as Suspect Police have named the domestic worker, reportedly called Aysha, as the prime suspect after CCTV footage captured her fleeing the scene. Investigators also recovered two bloodstained knives near the victims, raising questions about whether she acted alone or with accomplices. The horrifying crime came to light when the victim’s husband, AZ Azizul Islam, a school teacher, entered the seventh-floor apartment using a duplicate key. He found his wife and daughter lying in pools of blood. Laila was pronounced dead at the scene, while Nafisa succumbed to her injuries after being rushed to Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital. Deputy Commissioner Mizan said the CCTV footage shows the suspect leaving the building wearing a mask and carrying a bag. “Her clothes appeared clean, suggesting she may have changed attire inside the apartment after the killings,” he added. Inside the home, police found ransacked furniture, wardrobes, and vanity bags, intensifying the horror of the crime. Investigators are still verifying the suspect’s identity, who may have used “Aysha” as a pseudonym, and are probing the hiring channel, suspecting a possible fraud ring connection. The police continue their search for the missing domestic worker as the investigation seeks to uncover the full circumstances behind this heart-wrenching double homicide, which has left a family and community in deep shock.

Bangladesh’s long-running bad loans problem originated under former president Ziaur Rahman, yet successive parliaments have never properly examined it, one of the country’s leading economists has warned. Prof Rehman Sobhan, chair of the think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), made the remarks on Monday at a conference in Dhaka, highlighting the lack of meaningful parliamentary scrutiny of corruption, economic policymaking, and development practice. “Can you imagine that the bad loan crisis, which began in Ziaur Rahman’s era and has persisted for decades, has never received proper debate in parliament?” he asked during a session titled “Development and Democracy” at the BIDS annual conference. “There has not even been a meaningful or forceful discussion on it.” The economist’s warning comes as defaulted loans in Bangladesh’s banking sector reached 34.6 per cent of all disbursed credit until June this year — the highest level since 2000 — exposing the fragile state of the banking system and raising serious concerns about financial governance. At the end of June 2025, total loans and advances stood at Tk 17,34,200 crore, of which Tk 5,99,964 crore had gone sour, compared with Tk 2,11,391 crore in June last year, marking a rise of Tk 3,88,573 crore within 12 months. Prof Sobhan also criticised Bangladesh’s political culture, saying the elites now use wealth and financial influence to secure election victories, resulting in a parliament “of elites, by elites, and for elites” that shapes policy to suit its own interests. Recalling the 1970 election, he noted that candidates then travelled modestly by bus or rickshaw, with limited assets. “Today, you cannot imagine contesting an election without owning a Pajero. Many even aspire to receive at least one duty-free Pajero once elected as a parliamentary privilege,” he said. The remarks underscore the persistent tension between democracy and development in Bangladesh, with parliamentary oversight of economic issues remaining weak despite decades of escalating financial risk.

Tower Hamlets Council has been flagged for persistent governance weaknesses, including delays in appointing a permanent chief finance officer, social housing management issues, and long-standing problems with contracts and internal investigations. An external audit by EY outlined 10 issues at the council, including “significant turnover” of senior management and concerns over the management of social housing, the BBC reported. Overall, people of Bangladeshi origin make up about 34.6% of the borough’s population — the largest concentration of Bangladeshis in any local authority in the UK. The Bangladesh-born politician Lutfur Rahman controls the council. EY partner Stephen Reid told councillors that many of the issues had persisted for “many years” and the “pace of improvement has not matched the scale of the challenge”. Rahman was banned from public office in 2015 after winning the previous year’s election with the help of “corrupt and illegal practices”, the broadcaster said. These included smearing another candidate as a racist and offering bribes. Rahman was re-elected mayor in 2022 after the ban expired. Council Chief Executive Stephen Halsey welcomed the report and said the council was acting on its recommendations, the BBC said. Labour Councillor Marc Francis accused the leadership of being “defensive” and said it needed a “less rose-tinted view of itself”, it added. The report said the council had been “slow” in efforts to find a permanent replacement for its former chief finance officer, who left in April, as per the British broadcaster. It also noted the council should have referred itself to the Regulator for Social Housing sooner after taking its housing management service in-house in 2023. The council’s corporate director for housing said he did not consider the timeframe “unreasonable”. Halsey told the BBC that recruiting a new CFO had been hampered by a “competitive” employment market. Other weaknesses identified in the report included procurement and management of contracts, and the way internal investigations are conducted. The audit, presented to the council’s audit committee on Wednesday for the 2024-25 financial year, gave Tower Hamlets a C3 grade, the second lowest of four possible marks. "Without urgent and sustained action and clear accountability, the council risks remaining in a cycle of statutory intervention and limited assurance," Stephen Reid said. The government sent ministerial envoys to intervene in January after inspectors raised concerns over failing governance and local accountability, the BBC noted. Councillor Asma Islam said there was a “systematic, cultural issue” affecting much of the council’s decision-making, it added.