A woman and her son had been hacked to death in a Cumilla village allegedly by her elder son on Monday afternoon after which the man reportedly absconded.
The incident happened at Basantpur village of Adarsha 鈥嬧�婼adar upazila.
The deceased have been identified as Rahela Begum,65, wife of Azgar Ali of Basantpur village, and her younger son Kamal Hossain, 35.
As alleged killer Billal Hossain, Kamal鈥檚 elder brother, went into hiding, the police arrested his wife Aklima Khatun.
The police and neighbours said that Billal was a drug dealer and had a case against him under the Narcotics Control Act with the local police.
Describing the incident that led up to the killing of the mother and son, Kamal鈥檚 wife Amena Begum said that on Monday afternoon, her husband came home after a religious gathering and confronted Billal who also just came home 鈥榳ith drugs鈥�.
鈥楢 row began between them as my husband asked his elder brother not to bring drugs at home,鈥� she said, 鈥榓t one stage my brother-in-law rushed inside the house, and getting hold of a knife came charging at my husband.鈥�
When Billal was stabbing his brother, their elderly mother ran to save him when his son also attacked her, said Kamal鈥檚 wife.
Kamal was killed on the spot. Rahela Begum also died on the way to hospital.
Amena Begum also said that the two brothers had a long-standing conflict over land ownership that deepened when her husband Kamal returned from abroad recently.
She also said Billal was involved in drug dealing for the past five years and earned considerable sums of money from the illegal trade.
Neighbour Abu Taher, who was the brother鈥檚 uncle, confirmed about a long-standing land related conflict between the two brothers.聽聽
Kotwali Model Police officer-in-charge Md Mohinul Islam said that Billal鈥檚 wife was arrested for questioning.
He also said that deceased Kamal鈥檚 wife Amena Begum filed a murder case on Tuesday afternoon.
He said that the killings might have been committed over land dispute and Kamal鈥檚 protest against his brother鈥檚 involvement in drug dealing.
The bodies were sent to the Cumilla Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy, the OC added.
Separate investigation teams from the Criminal Investigation Department and Police Bureau of Investigation visited the scene, he added.