Roshu Kha

Roshu was the first documented serial killer in Bangladesh. Before killing women, he used to rape them. He confessed to murdering 11 women. His victims were female garment workers aged between 17 and 35.

Early life Roshu Kha's father, Abul Hossain (alias Monu Khan), was a farm laborer. Roshu Kha was from Modna village in the Chandra Union of Chandpur Sadar Upazila.

Criminal life After being arrested, Roshu Kha told police during interrogation that he had loved a girl before marriage. As a consequence of this affair, the girl's brothers broke his arm. To avenge this humiliation, he vowed revenge. He decided to kill 101 people to take his revenge. After committing those 101 murders, he planned to renounce the world and live a pious life, wandering from shrine to shrine as a saint. One by one, he went on to commit ten more murders. His final victim was a woman named Parvin, whom he raped and killed on July 20, 2009, by a canal in Hasa village under Faridganj police station, along with his nephew Zahirul and their accomplice Yunus. Roshu Kha was also involved in various crimes in the Dhaka and Gazipur areas. Apart from murder, he engaged in mugging, robbery, home invasions, bombings, and other terrorist activities—though theft remained his primary occupation.

Arrest Between 2007 and 2009, police from the Faridganj Police Station in Chandpur district recovered the bodies of six unidentified women. Each of the victims had been raped before being murdered. In July 2009, police recovered the body of a woman named Parvin. Following that incident, a man called the officer-in-charge of Faridganj Police Station from a mobile number and stated that he had transported the woman named Parvin by rickshaw from the bus stand. After receiving the phone complaint, police arrested the two named individuals. But after investigation, they were found not to be involved in Parvin's rape. When police attempted to call back the number, it was found to be switched off. To trace the number, the police employed a female informant. After a month, the informant informed the police that the number had become active again. Upon contacting it, police learned that the SIM card had been purchased from a sugarcane vendor named Tajul in the Gazipur market of Paikpara South Union in Faridganj Upazila, Chandpur district. When police detained Tajul, he revealed that two men named Roshu Kha and Mizan had attempted to steal a fan from a mosque, at which point he and a night guard had caught them red-handed. At that time, he took the SIM card from Roshu Kha and later sold it for 100 taka. Roshu Kha had been jailed for the fan theft but was released on bail. Though initially silent, he later confessed to murdering Parvin. After that, one by one, he gave confessional statements admitting to killing ten more women. A total of 11 cases were filed against him. After being arrested, he admitted that he was a professional criminal and had been involved in various kinds of crimes. He even attempted suicide once after his arrest.

Cases

Poppy murder case On February 9, 2009, police recovered the body of a young woman named Poppy from a canal in Noyarhat, Chandpur District. Roshu Kha confessed to the murder of Poppy to the police. However, in court, he was proven innocent. Judge Robiul Hasan of the Chittagong Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal acquitted him of all charges in the Poppy murder case.

Shahida murder case On December 17, 2008, Roshu Kha confessed to killing Shahida by the bank of the Dakatia River in Sobhanpur, Chandpur Sadar Upazila. On April 22, 2015, Judge Arunava Chakraborty, Additional District and Sessions Judge of Chandpur, sentenced Roshu Kha to death in the Shahida murder case.

Parvin murder case On March 6, 2018, Judge Abdul Mannan of the Women and Children Court in Chandpur sentenced Roshu Kha, along with his nephew Zahirul and their accomplice Yunus, to death in the Parvin murder case.

Personal life Roshu Kha was married to two women. Before his first marriage, the matchmaker did not allow him to see the bride beforehand. His first wife Moni was blind in one eye. Without divorcing his first wife, he married her sister Rina. After marrying Rina, he began living in Tongi, Gazipur.