A Bangladeshi student wanted on suspicion of stabbing a mother to death while she was pushing her baby through Bradford in a pram has today been arrested by police.
A major manhunt was launched for Habibur Masum after 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter was ambushed in a shocking daylight attack while she walked with her five-month-old son during a shopping trip on Saturday.
The suspect, from Oldham, was arrested in the early hours of this morning in the Aylesbury area – 180 miles away from Bradford. He is believed to be the father of the child – according to locals – and his Facebook says he is married.
A worker at a shop whose CCTV captured the attack says they saw Masum talking to Ms Akter outside for a number of minutes before he allegedly began stabbing her.
Police have already arrested a 23-year-old man on suspicion of assisting an offender and yesterday released a CCTV image of a grinning Masum boarding a bus from Bradford city centre nine minutes after the attack.
Yesterday, Greater Manchester Police announced it had referred itself to the Independent Officer for Police Conduct due to its previous contact with Masum and Ms Akter.
Masum, who is from the city of Sylhet in eastern Bangladesh, studied for a masters in digital marketing at the University of Bedfordshire, and shares travel vlogs of his ‘adventures’ and life in the UK to his 14 YouTube subscribers.
Habibur Masum is a wannabe blogger who previously posted videos of shopping hauls in Primark
Masum seen grinning on CCTV while waiting to catch a bus on Market Street in Bradford at 3.30pm on Saturday – nine minutes after Ms Akter was stabbed
Masum, who is from the city of Sylhet in eastern Bangladesh, studied for a masters in digital marketing at the University of Bedfordshire, and videos show him celebrating at his graduation
The student was filmed dancing at an event in a TikTok video shared last year
A witness at a nearby fruit and veg shop in Bradford revealed the entire incident was caught on their CCTV, with footage showing a seemingly peaceful conversation being shattered by the horrific attack.
The bystander told The Sun: ‘He just wanted to see his son. He has got the bus from Oldham to Bradford Interchange, then caught a taxi up here.
‘He has walked up Westgate from town with the mother and baby. They have then been chatting outside the shop for about five minutes, just talking together.
‘He has not tried to grab his son or anything, he just wanted to see him.’
They claim he then attacked Ms Aktar, who died at the scene.
According to another eyewitness, Ms Akter was stabbed ‘four to five times’ in the neck while shopping with a friend. The baby was not harmed.
Geo Khan, 69, who runs the shop, tried to resuscitate Ms Akter, who was one of his customers.
Mr Khan said he was sitting in his store on Saturday afternoon when he was alerted by screams on the other side of Westgate, in central Bradford.
He said he rushed over to Ms Akter, who was with a friend outside a convenience store on Wigan Street, and was joined by a doctor as others called the ambulance.
‘I was sitting in my shop and heard screaming,’ Mr Khan said on Monday. I came out and I tried to check the pulse. There was no pulse.’
He said: ‘Blood was all over on the floor and there were stab wounds in her neck.’
Mr Khan said he was joined by the passing doctor who took over trying to help Ms Akter, but agreed there was no pulse.
‘Him and me and another guy tried to rescue her, but she was already gone,’ Mr Khan said. ‘I don’t think she was there any more.’
He said: ‘Whatever happened, it’s a very sad thing.’
Mr Khan said Ms Akter came into his shop the day before the incident, and he believes she only came to the area a few weeks ago.
Officers were seen storming a housing association property in Burnley on Sunday and were seen on Monday carrying out a thorough search of the garden
This second house was raided at the same time as the previous home
Online, Masum presents an image of himself as an enthusiastic traveller who enjoys discovering new cultures
Days before the woman was murdered, Masum shared a clip in which two characters described how a man had ‘lost’ his bride during a walk
One video shows him admiring the wide range of of Bangladeshi made clothes in Primark before filming a children’s offer and leaving with two full bags
He said the baby is about four or five months old. Mr Khan said he believes she is from Bangladesh.
He said: ‘She was a very, very innocent person – the smile on her face.’
At a press conference yesterday, Assistant Chief Constable Damien Miller of West Yorkshire Police said the victim, Ms Akter, was from Oldham, Greater Manchester, where she had been in contact with police prior to moving to Bradford.
He added that Masum was also known to police in Greater Manchester.
‘On Saturday April 6, shortly before 3.20pm Kulsuma Akter was walking in Bradford city centre,’ he said.
‘Kulsuma was with her young baby at this time, and was walking along Westgate when she was attacked and stabbed multiple times.
‘The emergency services were called at 3.21pm. However, despite the best efforts of members of the public, ambulance crews, and hospital staff, Kulsuma sadly lost her life due to the injuries. Her baby is safe and well and was not harmed in this incident.’
West Yorkshire Police had been leading the hunt for Masum, but Greater Manchester Police was also heavily involved due to his links with the area.
Detective Superintendent Jude Holmes, from GMP, said: ‘We share the shock and concern that our communities feel in the wake of this tragic incident, and our thoughts are with Kulsuma Akter’s family at this truly distressing time.
‘Due to previous police contact with Habibur Masum and Kulsuma Akter, Greater Manchester Police has made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.’
Concerns have been raised in the past over the deaths of women who have accused male partners of violent behaviour before going on to be murdered by them.
In 2017, the IOPC’s predecessor body, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), said GMP’s handling of three women who were murdered by their partners was ‘unsatisfactory’ but not misconduct.
A source, who described himself as a friend of Masum’s, told MailOnline that he had come to the UK from Bangladesh two years ago to study
One video shared to his 14 subscribers on YouTube showed him trying on different jumpers in Primark
Masum giving a peace sign as he celebrates his graduation from the University of Bedfordshire
Masum, 25, is being hunted by police who are appealing for members of the public to report any sightings of him
Masum is pictured on CCTV wearing a duffle coat with three large horizontal lines of grey, white and black, as well as light grey tracksuit bottoms and maroon trainers
Another video on Masum’s YouTube channel showed snow falling in the UK as he warned people to not stay out in the cold for long
Masum appears to have been trying to carve out a career as an influencer, sharing travel vlogs of his ‘adventures’ and life in the UK to his 14 YouTube subscribers.
One post shows him admiring the wide range of Bangladeshi made clothes in Primark before trying on a range of winter jumpers. He then films a display showing children’s clothes on offer and leaves with two full bags.
In another video from January, Masum is seen filming himself walking through a housing estate as snow falls down. He warns his followers who are new to the UK not too ‘stay out in the cold too long’ as they could get chest problems.
He has also shared clips to his 4,300 followers on Facebook telling them how to prepare a hospital bag for ‘your newborn baby’. Another showed him setting up a child’s cot.
Online, Masum presents an image of himself as an enthusiastic traveller who enjoys discovering new cultures.
On his LinkedIn he describes himself as an ‘adventure lover’ and warns ‘toxic people to stay away’ from him.
A source, who described himself as a friend of Masum’s, told MailOnline that he had come to the UK from Bangladesh two years ago to study.
He said the suspect was married, had been living in Oldham and had wanted to go travelling across Europe.
Just days ago the suspected attacker had shared a video on his YouTube channel, vlogging his trip from Manchester to Barcelona.
It is understood Masum is a master’s student at the University of Bedfordshire studying Digital Marketing
In January, Samin’s UK Visas Support Centre shared a photo of Masum’s Schengen visa as a success story
The wannabe influencer captured his trip from the moment he boarded the Ryanair flight to landing in the Spanish city, before encouraging his 14 subscribers to continue following for more upcoming videos.
Masum’s friend, who works at the visa company that helped him get a Schengen visa to travel countries in Europe, said last night that he was ‘completely shocked’ by the news.
He told MailOnline: ‘I know him as a friend. I am shocked, really shocked about it. I am surprised, he’s a nice and good person. I can’t believe the situation. He had been in the UK for nearly two years, he is studying.
‘I know he’s married. Two months ago he was living in Oldham, Manchester, but which area I do not know. He’s a student so he wanted to go travelling and I helped him get a visa as he wanted to visit Europe.
‘I know him from seeing him in local places, playing football and cricket, so I know him from that. Then he told me he wanted to go visit Europe and said he wanted to apply for a visa.
‘He is a nice person from my knowledge but I have not heard from him since about two months ago. I am really shocked about this.’
In January, Samin’s UK Visas Support Centre shared a photo of Masum’s Schengen visa as a success story.
A photo of the suspect’s visa to Portugal read: ‘Happy to help you. Schengen Visa from UK. Good idea, better application visa.’
A murder investigation has been launched after Ms Akter was stabbed to death in Bradford on Saturday
A police cordon put in place around the scene in Westgate, Bradford
