Four people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 13-year-old schoolboy in Cumilla and have confessed to the crime, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Sunday, adding that police are verifying the suspects’ ages.

Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat in Dhaka, Ahmed said two of the suspects are believed to be over 18, one is likely a minor, and authorities are reviewing national identity cards to confirm their ages.

Three of the suspects were arrested earlier, while the fourth was taken into custody on Sunday.

The suspects were friends of the victim but were five to 10 years older, the minister said, describing the group as resembling a juvenile gang.

Ishayat Shahriar Opratim, a seventh-grade student, went missing on Friday afternoon and his body was found in a woodland in the Lalmai hills on Saturday with head injuries. Police arrested all four suspects within 12 hours, Ahmed said.

The minister added that a phone involved in the incident was recovered from the primary suspect, identified as Tuhin. He added that all the evidence has been found and police are taking further legal steps, including whether to record confessions under Section 164.

“The Cumilla incident is a tragic one,” Ahmed said. “Within 24 hours of his going missing, news of his death came and the body was recovered.”

Ahmed commended police for arresting the suspects within 12 hours and securing the evidence, noting that forensic analysis is underway. A post-mortem examination has been completed, and the boy was buried on Sunday.

The minister expressed hope that the trial would proceed swiftly, referencing the swift trial in the Ramisa murder case.

“The court will conduct the trial,” Ahmed said. “We will cooperate by completing all the legal procedures we have and filing the charge sheet.”