A grandmother and her two young grandchildren were brutally murdered in Khulna’s Labanchara area on Sunday, in what police suspect to be a targeted attack linked to a land dispute.

Police said the victims were the 55-year-old grandmother, her grandson Mustakim (8) and granddaughter Fatiha (7)—both first-grade students at a local madrasa. All three were allegedly beaten to death with bricks or a blunt object in the afternoon.

The children’s parents—Shahiton Nesa, an employee at the Ramphal Land Office in Bagerhat, and Shifar Ahmed, who works at the Khulna Chamber of Commerce—returned home at night after work and discovered the bodies. As both parents work full-time, the grandmother regularly took care of the children.

Hearing Shahiton’s screams, neighbours rushed to the house and later alerted police. Officers reached the spot, recovered the bodies, and sent them to Khulna Medical College Hospital morgue.

Police believe the killings occurred sometime after noon. “The victims were attacked with bricks or a heavy object,” said investigators, adding that a preliminary inquiry is underway.

Shahiton alleged that a long-standing land dispute involving her maternal uncle’s in-laws may have led to the killings.

Khulna Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Sudarshan Roy said the case is being treated as a homicide.

“We have launched a drive to identify and arrest the suspects. Investigation is ongoing,” he added.