Cardiff man, son die of poisoning in Bangladesh flat, two other family members critical

Media reports said investigators found ‘light blue and brown liquids’ in the nose of the deceased duo

• Chandrashekar Bhat
• 28 July, 2022

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By: Chandrashekar Bhat

A father-son duo from Cardiff died of poisoning in Bangladesh and three other members of their family were receiving treatment.

Rafiqul Islam, 51, and his son Mahiqul, 16, died when they were being taken to a hospital.

His wife Husnara and daughter Samira – both in critical conditions – and eldest son Sadiqul were in intensive care, police said.

The family of the taxi driver from the Riverside area of Wales’ capital were on a two-month holiday and staying in a flat in Sylhet city in north-eastern Bangladesh.

“We believe this may have been a case of poisoning,” superintendent of police Farid Uddin said.

Media reports said investigators conducting an autopsy found ‘light blue and brown liquids’ in the nose of the father and son.

“How were they poisoned? How did they die? We will be able to confirm after an investigation… But, at first glance, it looks like murder using poison,” Mail Online quoted Uddin as saying.

All five were sleeping in the same room on Monday night and other residents of the building raised the alarm the next morning as the family did not wake up.

Police broke into the flat and found all five members unconscious. They were rushed to a hospital where Rafiqul and Mahiqul were declared dead.

The post-mortem examination reports were expected in five days.

“The other people in the building are close relatives of the victims. We questioned them. At the moment, we believe they fell asleep after dinner last night,” Uddin said.

Rafiqul’s brother-in-law Abdul Mumin Khan described the deceased man as a “very friendly” and “nice guy” and said his son was “sweet”.

Back in Cardiff, a shocked Bangladeshi community mourned the death of Rafiqul and his son.

Bangladeshi Association Cardiff assistant secretary Mohammad Rafiqul Islam the BBC, “It’s summer holidays and a lot of British-Bangladeshi people are in Bangladesh right now, especially in Sylhet, Osmani Nagar and Tajpur”.