Brother of mum stabbed to death pushing pram speaks of family’s ‘devastation’

The brother of Kulsuma Akter has told of his devastation after his sister was stabbed to death (Picture: PA / SWNS)

The brother of a mum stabbed to death in the street pushing her baby has spoken of his ‘complete devastation.’

Kulsuma Akter, 27, was attacked in broad daylight on Saturday as she walked with her baby boy in a pram.

Her ‘heartbroken’ 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.’

A 25-year-old man was yesterday arrested on suspicion of the young mum’s murder.

Habibur Masum in a picture posted to social media (Picture: Threads/@___m_a_s_u_m___)

Geo Khan rushed to the woman’s aid (Picture: Dave Higgens/PA Wire)

It came after officers named Habibur Masum as a fugitive they were hunting following the attack.

Masum is the dad of the baby who was in the pram when Kulsama was ambushed.

Ms Akter’s cousin, Aftab Miah, has also revealed that she had a traditional arranged marriage to Habibur Masum just over two years ago in Bangladesh.

He then came to the UK to study and she accompanied him as a dependent.

The couple were living in Oldham in a flat above a shop. Ms Akter has two older brothers living in the town, as well as a sister and another brother in Bangladesh. She was the youngest of five siblings.

Mr Miah revealed that she did not work, spoke limited English and relied on her husband for her financial survival.

Mr Miah, 53, added: ‘She was a lovely girl and had a great personality. She was always smiling and liked to make people laugh.

‘We will miss her a lot and her death has hit us all really hard. But married life became quite difficult for her.’

He revealed that Ms Akter lived in the village of Singerkach, Sylet, eastern Bangladesh before coming to the UK. Her mother still resides there but her father works in 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.’

Police on Monday arrested a man, 23, on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Both Masum and Kulsuma were known to cops, with Greater Manchester Police referring itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over previous contact with the pair.

West Yorkshire Police has also referred itself to the police watchdog.

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