A 17-year-old student, Rakibul Islam, who had come to Dhaka to prepare for university admission tests, was allegedly murdered and his body taken to Nilphamari in a carton, police said.

According to police, Rakibul was killed for ransom and his body was later buried in Dimla upazila of Nilphamari.

Police said Rakib was taken from in front of the Shewrapara metro rail station to a house in Shukrabad on September 16. His family later received WhatsApp messages demanding Tk 1.5 million in ransom, along with threats to kill him if the money was not paid.

The family reportedly sent a total of Tk 400,000 to four bKash and three Nagad numbers at different times.

Unable to locate Rakib, his elder brother filed a general diary (GD) with Kafrul Police Station. Police subsequently launched an investigation based on the GD.

Following the WhatsApp number allegedly used to demand the ransom, police arrested Abdul্লাহ Al Mamun alias Mamun Sarkar.

Police claimed that Mamun confessed during interrogation to killing Rakib. Based on information provided by him, police recovered Rakib’s body from a betel nut orchard in Dimla, Nilphamari, on October 6.

According to police, Rakib went to Mamun’s residence on September 16, where a scuffle allegedly broke out between the two. Mamun reportedly told police that Rakib died during the altercation.

Mamun then allegedly placed the body in a carton, transported it to Nilphamari and buried it in a betel nut orchard.

Mamun has been sent to court in connection with the case. Police said they were investigating whether anyone else was involved in the killing, as well as the ransom transactions and other aspects of the incident.