Brother of Bradford stabbing victim speak of devastation at young mother’s death

Kulsuma Akter has been described by her relatives as a “wonderful lady”

Kulsuma Akter was stabbed mutliple times in Bradford city centre (Dave Higgens/PA) (PA Wire)

The brother of a young mother who was repeatedly stabbed while pushing her baby through Bradford city centre has spoken of their family’s heartbreak at her death.

Kulsuma Akter, 27, was ambushed in broad daylight as she walked through the Westgate area on Saturday, with her baby in a pram.

Emergency services were called at 3.21pm but despite their best efforts, she had received multiple stab wounds to the neck and was pronounced dead in hospital.

Her brother Hossain told MailOnline: “We are not even able to speak and have been crying all the time since this happened.

“We had to call our mother in Bangladesh to tell her the news. Can you imagine what this was like for us? I can’t believe my sister is dead.”

Shopkeeper Geo Khan went to the young woman’s aid (Dave Higgens/PA Wire)

Habibur Masum, 25, was arrested on suspicion of Ms Akter’s murder on Tuesday in the Aylesbury area in Buckinghamshire following a four-day manhunt.

Speaking to the BBC, her cousin Aftab Miah said her mother had been “constantly crying” since receiving the news of her daughter’s death.

Mr Miah told the broadcaster: “She (Ms Akter) was very caring, humble, she had (a) good personality. She used to make people laugh. She was a wonderful lady.”

He added: “Her mum in Bangladesh, she’s constantly crying. I spoke to (her) a lot yesterday, and she never stopped crying and all the time mentioning her name.”

He revealed that Ms Akter lived in the village of Singerkach, Sylet, eastern Bangladesh before coming to the UK. While her mother still resides there, her father is Saudi Arabia.

He added: ‘The family are spread across the world and are not even able to come together at this very difficult time. I can’t put into words the pain they are going through. It’s horrific.’

Ms Akter’s baby is safe and was not harmed in the incident.

West Yorkshire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct because officers had contact with Ms Akter before her death, a force spokesperson confirmed.

A 23-year-old man arrested in Cheshire on suspicion of assisting an offender remains in police custody.

Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Atkinson, of West Yorkshire Police’s homicide and major enquiry team, said: “This is a tragic incident in which a mother has lost her life in the most horrific of circumstances.

“We understand that this has caused a considerable amount of concern in the local community. Local neighbourhood policing teams are patrolling the area conducting reassurance to the community.

“We would like to thank Thames Valley Police for their support and assistance in this matter.”