DHAKA, March 21, 2025 (BSS) - Sahal, a three-year-old minor boy, was murdered in Bhairab, Kishoreganj on January 1 this year.

He was a barrier in the way of his mothers' extramarital affair. 

His mother Bilkis Begumwith the help of her paramour Hasan killed him to remove the thorn in the path. The mother had to pay the price for her extramarital affair in exchange of three-year-old Sahal's life.

Later,Sahal's grandmother Nasima Begum, 50, filed a murder case at the local police station on January 2. The murderers --Bilkis and Hasan -- are now in jail.

Like Sahal, five-year-old Fahim and ten-year-old Sanja had to face the same fate. Tractor driver Amir Hossain, 25, got extramarital affairs with his neighbor Laily Akter, 30. One day, Fahim entered the house and saw his father in an objectionable situation with another woman. To hide his misdeeds, Amir strangled his own child to death with the help of his loveron November 7, 2024, in Debidwar, Comilla.

SM Selim, 34, and MahmudaHaque, 33, had a happy family. They were blessed
with two lovely children --SanjaMarwa and younger NiluMarwa. As Selim
became addicted to anotherwoman, their 14-year conjugal life suddenly became erratic. One day, Selim had mixed excessive sleeping pills with milk and fed it to his wife Mahmuda and elder daughter Sanja Marwa. Later, Selim himself described the tragic murder to the police. The incident took place on June 30, 2023.

In this way, innocent children are becoming victims of their parents'
extramarital affairs and immoral behavior. The number of cases of child murder at the hands of families is increasing.

Psychologists, sociologists and human rights activists said that antisocial and immoral 'virus' not only destroying the family life, but innocent children are also being brutally victimized. Some people are affected by a sense of isolation.

Due to this feeling, they have no affection for their children.

An analysis of 23 news stories published from 2018 to June 2023 on murders and suicides, including those involving children, has shown that children are brutally killed due to marital strife. Sometimes due to anger, resentment, or a tendency to teach or revenge each other and extramarital affairs, parents have killed their own children. 

In 2023, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) investigated 165 child murders, and found that more children were killed due to family disputes. The PBI's study shows that family disputes and past enmity, extramarital affairs and love-related reasons are the most common causes of child murders.

Law enforcement officials said that the recent issue of child murder by close relatives is worrying. Criminals always target the weak. Since children are weak, they are killed for greed and self-interest.

Save the Children Director Rifat Bin Sattar said, "Social instability is a major reason behind such tragic incidents. It is necessary to take care of the mental health of such family members. Immediate action must be taken in case of child abuse. It is more important to think anew to make the society child-friendly first
along with taking stern measures by the state to this end."

Human rights activist Advocate Elina Khan said the number of child abuse and deaths is increasing alarmingly across the country every day. "We knew earlier that children were not safe from strangers. But in the current context, we see it differently. Now children are being tortured and killed in their own homes," she said.

"Due to the deterioration of the relationship between husband and wife, they are increasing the torture on children. Again, due to the safety of mothers, many times there are cases of killing their children and committing suicide. Greed has increased among us; the tendency to grow up in a short time has increased. The reason for extramarital affairs is also among them. When the child sees the adultery of their parents, they kill the child," she observed.

Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan said, "Adultery is a terrible fraud. The rate of adultery in the country has increased compared to before. It is eroding social and moral values. That's why some do not hesitate to kill their own children".

Associate Professor at the National Institute of Mental Health Dr. Helal Uddin Ahmed said that all concerned must raise awareness campaigns on social media to discourage extramarital affairs to stop the child abuse in the society.