Three suspects remanded over murder of Bangladeshi

Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of a Bangladeshi construction worker on the island of Fonadhoo in Laamu atoll.

The 27-year-old Bangladeshi man, identified as Hassanullah by local media, was found dead on the island’s beach on Thursday morning, two days after he was reported missing.

The police began investigating the death as a murder after signs of injury were found on the body.

Three expatriates were arrested on Friday on suspicion of committing the murder, the police said, declining to disclose further details.

A fourth was reportedly taken into custody later. A court has since remanded the suspects to police custody for 15 days.

According to local media, the Bangladeshi man had been living in Fonadhoo for some time as a construction worker. Islanders suspect that his body washed ashore after he was killed and thrown into the sea.

The body was found near the stage area of the Baraasil ward of Fonadhoo and the police cordoned off the area.

In June 2015, a Bangladeshi undocumented worker was discovered dead with severe head injuries at an uninhabited house on the island of Gan in Laamu atoll, which is connected by a causeway to Fonadhoo.

A month later, a Maldivian man was charged with murder.

The murder victim, identified only as Bassan, was the third migrant worker killed in 2015, prompting expatriates to plan a protest in Malé.

But the demonstration was called off after the department of immigration threatened to cancel visas and take action against the employers of the migrant workers participating in the protest.

Some 130,000 migrant workers are believed to reside in the Maldives, including 60,000 undocumented workers, the majority of whom are Bangladeshi and Indian men working in the construction sector.

Photos from Raajje.mv