Mobile phone alarm leads to arrest in 2020 Gazipur quadruple murder case

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A gruesome 2020 quadruple homicide in Sreepur, Gazipur, which baffled investigators for days, was ultimately unraveled by a persistent mobile phone alarm echoing from beneath a dirt floor. The victims, an Indonesian woman and her three children—two teenage daughters and a speech-impaired son—were found dead in their home on the morning of April 24, 2020. The family’s father, who had married the woman in 2001 after meeting in Malaysia, was abroad at the time of the killings.

Following the discovery of the bodies, a multi-agency task force—including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI)—was deployed to the scene. Investigators initially suspected a robbery gone wrong, as cash, jewelry, and mobile devices were missing. However, the sheer brutality of the act led detectives to conclude that the perpetrator was likely someone familiar to the victims.

Suspicion soon turned to a 20-year-old neighbor, Parvez Mia. PBI investigators noted that the crime scene showed signs of entry through a bathroom ventilator, and footprints discovered near the home matched those of the suspect. Despite these mounting red flags, Parvez remained uncooperative during interrogations, denying any involvement even as investigators searched his property.

The breakthrough occurred during a pre-dawn search of Parvez’s home when investigators heard an unmistakable sound: the rhythmic tolling of an Islamic prayer alarm. Thinking it originated from a nearby mosque, the officers soon realized the sound was emanating from directly beneath them. Upon digging into the dirt floor, they recovered a mobile phone belonging to the murdered Indonesian woman, which had been set to trigger at dawn.

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Following the discovery of the phone and subsequent recovery of stolen jewelry, cash, and other personal items from Parvez and his family members, the suspect confessed. According to court filings and PBI records, Parvez admitted to entering the home to commit theft, only to be identified by the woman. Panicked, he attacked the family with a machete, remaining in the house for nearly five hours. Forensic evidence and DNA testing later confirmed that Parvez had raped at least one of the victims before the murders.

The PBI has since filed charges against Parvez, his father, his sister, and his brother-in-law, who were found in possession of the stolen goods. The case is currently pending in court. PBI Chief and Additional Inspector General Mostafa Kamal described the investigation as a complex synthesis of forensic science, DNA evidence, and diligent police work, noting that the “dramatic turning point” provided by the buried phone alarm was the pivotal evidence that broke the case.