A man allegedly strangled a woman and her minor daughter to death and buried their bodies to conceal the crime after the woman pressured him to marry her, police said.

The accused, Md Uzzal Khan, disclosed the details to police following his arrest, according to officials.

Uzzal, son of the late Shahjahan Khan of Bokartila Khaserkol village in Mangalpur union of Goalanda Upazila, was detained on May 16 in connection with the killings.

Additional Superintendent of Police Fatema Islam said that after the bodies were recovered, the victim’s father, Md Lalon Molla, filed a case with Faridpur Kotwali Police Station.

The investigation officer, Sub-Inspector Abul Bashar Molla, arrested Uzzal based on preliminary investigation and information technology support.

Police also seized the spade used to bury the bodies, she said, adding that the accused confessed to the double murder during interrogation.

According to police, Jahannara Begum, 30, wife of Amjad Sheikh of Karnasona village in Goalanda, and Uzzal had developed a relationship while working at a brick kiln in Amin Bazar in the capital about three years ago. At one stage, Jahannara began pressuring him for marriage.

On May 4, Uzzal allegedly called Jahannara to Jamtala Bazar. After attending a religious gathering at a relative’s house, she went there in the afternoon with her three-year-old daughter Samia. Uzzal then took them to a secluded pond bank in Kalitola area of Char Madhabdia union under Faridpur Sadar upazila.

An argument broke out between them over their relationship and marriage. Around 11:30pm, Uzzal punched Jahannara in the chest, leaving her unconscious, and later strangled her to death, police said.

When the child began crying, he allegedly strangled her as well.

He later brought a spade from his nearby house, dug a pit beside the pond and buried the bodies, covering the spot with banana trees to hide evidence. He reportedly carried out the act alone late into the night.

Jahannara was the daughter of Md Lalon Molla of Naran Teota village in Teota union of Shibalaya Upazila.

Police recovered the bodies of Jahannara and her daughter on May 14, eleven days after they went missing, from a shallow grave near a pond in the area.

A case has been filed  and further legal proceedings are underway, police said.