A 25-year-old man has been charged with murdering a woman who was with her baby in a pram in Bradford city centre.
Habibur Masum is accused of fatally stabbing Kulsuma Akter, 27, on a busy city street as she shopped with a friend on Saturday afternoon. He will appear at Bradford magistrates court on Thursday.
Masum was detained by police in the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury, 140 miles from Bradford, on Tuesday morning after a four-day hunt.
Akter’s cousin, Aftab Miah, on Wednesday paid tribute to the “polite and humble” young mother who “made the people around her laugh”.
Miah told the BBC that her family were “devastated”. Akter’s mother, who lives in Bangladesh, was distraught and had “never stopped crying” since the fatal attack, he said.
In a statement, West Yorkshire police said: “Habibur Masum, 25, of Leamington Avenue, Burnley has been charged … with murder and possession of a bladed article.
“A 23-year-old man arrested in the Cheshire area on Monday on suspicion of assisting an offender, has been released on bail. Four other men were arrested in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire on suspicion of assisting an offender and drug offences. The men aged 23, 26, 28, and 29, from the West Midlands area, are currently in custody.”
Shaun Sigamoney, the district crown prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised West Yorkshire police to charge Habibur Masum with murder and possession of a bladed article, following the death of Kulsuma Akter, who was fatally stabbed in Bradford city centre on Saturday 6 April.
“Prosecutors from CPS Yorkshire and Humberside’s complex casework unit authorised the charges following a review of a file of evidence from West Yorkshire police.
“Our thoughts are with Kulsuma Akter’s family at this time. We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that they have a right to a fair trial.
“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
Masum is understood to be originally from Bangladesh.
