Bangladeshi murder suspect Habibur Masum who is being hunted by police after mother was stabbed to death in front of her baby son is 'believed to be father of the child and ex-lover of his victim

A Bangladeshi man wanted on suspicion of stabbing a mother to death while she was pushing her baby through Bradford in a pram is believed to be the father of the child.

Suspect Habibur Masum is still at large after 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter was ambushed in a shocking daylight attack while pushing her five-month-old son in a buggy during a shopping trip on Saturday.

Police have warned members of the public 'not to approach' the 25-year-old, who MailOnline revealed on Monday had been on bail after being charged with assaulting and threatening to kill Ms Akter last November, and to 'call 999 immediately' if they see him.

A worker a shop whose CCTV captured the attack revealed that Masum was seen talking to Ms Akter outside for a number of minutes before launching into a violent attack, and that they believed him to be the father of her child.

Police have already arrested a 23-year-old man on suspicion of assisting an offender and on Monday released a CCTV image of a grinning Masum boarding a buss from Bradford city centre nine minutes after the attack. He was last sighted getting off the bus in the Bradford Moor Park area, a couple of miles away.

Yesterday, Greater Manchester Police announced it had referred itself to the Independent Officer for Police Conduct due to its previous contact with Masum and Ms Akter. 

Masum, who is from the city of Sylhet in eastern Bangladesh, studied for a masters in digital marketing at the University of Bedfordshire, and shares travel vlogs of his 'adventures' and life in the UK to his 14 YouTube subscribers.

A witness at a nearby fruit and veg shop in Bradford revealed the entire incident was caught on their CCTV, with footage showing a seemingly peaceful conversation being shattered by the horrific attack.

The bystander told The Sun: 'He just wanted to see his son. He has got the bus from Oldham to Bradford Interchange, then caught a taxi up here.

'He has walked up Westgate from town with the mother and baby. They have then been chatting outside the shop for about five minutes, just talking together.

'He has not tried to grab his son or anything, he just wanted to see him.

'Then he attacked the woman and there is screaming and he killed her.'

According to another eyewitnesses, Ms Akter was stabbed 'four to five times' in the neck while shopping with a friend. The baby was not harmed.

Geo Khan, 69, who runs the shop, tried to resuscitate Ms Akter, who was one of his customers. 

Mr Khan said he was sitting in his store on Saturday afternoon when he was alerted by screams on the other side of Westgate, in central Bradford.

He said he rushed over to Ms Akter, who was with a friend outside a convenience store on Wigan Street, and was joined by a doctor as others called the ambulance.

'I was sitting in my shop and heard screaming,' Mr Khan said on Monday. I came out and I tried to check the pulse. There was no pulse.'

He said: 'Blood was all over on the floor and there were stab wounds in her neck.'

Mr Khan said he was joined by the passing doctor who took over trying to help Ms Akter, but agreed there was no pulse.

'Him and me and another guy tried to rescue her, but she was already gone,' Mr Khan said. 'I don't think she was there any more.'

He said: 'Whatever happened, it's a very sad thing.'

Mr Khan said Ms Akter came into his shop the day before the incident, and he believes she only came to the area a few weeks ago.

He said the baby is about four or five months old. Mr Khan said he believes she is from Bangladesh.

He said: 'She was a very, very innocent person - the smile on her face.'

At a press conference on Monday, Assistant Chief Constable Damien Miller of West Yorkshire Police said the victim, Ms Akter, was from Oldham, Greater Manchester, where she had been in contact with police prior to moving to Bradford.

He added that Masum was also known to police in Greater Manchester.

'On Saturday April 6, shortly before 3.20pm Kulsuma Akter was walking in Bradford city centre,' he said. 

'Kulsuma was with her young baby at this time, and was walking along Westgate when she was attacked and stabbed multiple times.

'The emergency services were called at 3.21pm. However, despite the best efforts of members of the public, ambulance crews, and hospital staff, Kulsuma sadly lost her life due to the injuries. Her baby is safe and well and was not harmed in this incident.'

Police believe that Masum is still in the country and have been carrying out house to house enquiries in the Moore Park area of the city.

Mr Miller said: 'I would encourage Masum to contact us and hand himself in immediately.

'At this stage, we have done an all ports warning, and I believe he is still in the country.

'Masum is a suspect, we have a victim who died and I would encourage everyone to contact us if they see him and do not approach him.'

West Yorkshire Police is leading the hunt for Masum, but Greater Manchester Police is also heavily involved due to Masum's links with the area. 

Detective Superintendent Jude Holmes, from GMP, said: 'We share the shock and concern that our communities feel in the wake of this tragic incident, and our thoughts are with Kulsuma Akter's family at this truly distressing time.

'Habibur Masum is wanted by West Yorkshire Police on suspicion of murder. Due to his links to Greater Manchester, we have our specialist officers following several lines of enquiry to locate him. 

'Due to previous police contact with Habibur Masum and Kulsuma Akter, Greater Manchester Police has made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.'

Concerns have been raised in the past over the deaths of women who have accused male partners of violent behaviour before going on to be murdered by them.

In 2017, the IOPC's predecessor body, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), said GMP's handling of three women who were murdered by their partners was 'unsatisfactory' but not misconduct.

Horrific CCTV from a nearby food store shows the knifeman plunging his weapon into Ms Akter's neck. In mid-March, Masum had shared a clip in which two characters described how a man had 'lost' his bride during a walk. 

Officers were seen storming a housing association property an hour's drive away in Burnley as part of their hunt for Masum at around noon on Sunday, with officers seen leading away a man and a woman. 

One neighbour said: 'The riot vans pulled up and armed police jumped out. They were everywhere. A little while afterwards, a lady and an elderly gentleman were taken out of the house by police.'

Forensic officers arrived at the property in the early hours of this morning and have been seen searching the house and garden before taking away evidence in plastic bags. They also used cameras to look inside the gutters. 

At the same time as the first raid, police then entered a semi-detached home in Burley after discovering Masum had links to the family living there. A witness said: 'Armed police went in first. There were a lot of police here. 'I don't think they found anything or anyone.'

Masum appears to have been trying to carve out a career as an influencer, sharing travel vlogs of his 'adventures' and life in the UK to his 14 YouTube subscribers. 

One post shows him admiring the wide range of Bangladeshi made clothes in Primark before trying on a range of winter jumpers. He then films a display showing children's clothes on offer and leaves with two full bags. 

In another video from January, Masum is seen filming himself walking through a housing estate as snow falls down. He warns his followers who are new to the UK not too 'stay out in the cold too long' as they could get chest problems.

He has also shared clips to his 4,300 followers on Facebook telling them how to prepare a hospital bag for 'your newborn baby'. Another showed him setting up a child's cot.

Online, Masum presents an image of himself as an enthusiastic traveller who enjoys discovering new cultures. 

On his LinkedIn he describes himself as an 'adventure lover' and warns 'toxic people to stay away' from him. 

A source, who described himself as a friend of Masum's, told MailOnline that he had come to the UK from Bangladesh two years ago to study. 

He said the suspect was married, had been living in Oldham and had wanted to go travelling across Europe.

Just days ago the suspected attacker had shared a video on his YouTube channel, vlogging his trip from Manchester to Barcelona.

The wannabe influencer captured his trip from the moment he boarded the Ryanair flight to landing in the Spanish city, before encouraging his 14 subscribers to continue following for more upcoming videos.

Masum's friend, who works at the visa company that helped him get a Schengen visa to travel countries in Europe, said last night that he was 'completely shocked' by the news.

He told MailOnline: 'I know him as a friend. I am shocked, really shocked about it. I am surprised, he's a nice and good person. I can't believe the situation. He had been in the UK for nearly two years, he is studying.

'I know he's married. Two months ago he was living in Oldham, Manchester, but which area I do not know. He's a student so he wanted to go travelling and I helped him get a visa as he wanted to visit Europe.

'I know him from seeing him in local places, playing football and cricket, so I know him from that. Then he told me he wanted to go visit Europe and said he wanted to apply for a visa. 

'He is a nice person from my knowledge but I have not heard from him since about two months ago. I am really shocked about this.'

In January, Samin's UK Visas Support Centre shared a photo of Masum's Schengen visa as a success story.

A photo of the suspect's visa to Portugal read: 'Happy to help you. Schengen Visa from UK. Good idea, better application visa.'

Police named Masum on Sunday and urged the public to contact them with any sightings of him. 

Officers were called to the Westgate area of Bradford at 3.21pm on Saturday after reports of a woman being stabbed by a man who then fled, and she later died in hospital. 

A knife was recovered from the scene of the incident. 

Police described Masum as an Asian man, of slim build.

He was pictured on CCTV wearing a duffle coat with three large horizontal lines of grey, white and black, light blue or grey tracksuit bottoms with a small black emblem on the left pocket and maroon trainers. 

There was no sign of any police activity in the area this morning but one bunch of flowers had been laid close to where the attack happened.

A witness also reported seeing him wearing a grey hoodie with the hood up. He is believed to have links to the Burnley and Chester areas.

Detective chief inspector Stacey Atkinson, of West Yorkshire Police's Homicide and Enquiry Team, said: 'We have had significant resources following up a number of lines of enquiry to locate Habibur Masum but at this time his whereabouts are unknown.

'A knife was recovered from the scene of the murder, but we cannot say if Habibur Masum is armed, and I would urge anyone who does see him not to approach him but to call 999 immediately.

'If anyone has any information about his movements or whereabouts since 3.20pm on Saturday please contact police as a matter of urgency.

'We understand that the murder of a young woman in such shocking circumstances has caused considerable concern in the local community. Residents can expect to continue to see a significant police presence in Bradford as we make further enquiries and conduct reassurance patrols in the area.'

In a joint statement on Sunday, Bradford City ward councillors, Aneela Ahmed, Nazam Azam and Shakeela Lal, said: 'We are deeply shocked and saddened by yesterday's incident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the deceased.

'We would urge anyone who has any information relating to the incident, to contact the police.'

Bradford West MP Naz Shah, whose constituency covers the city centre, described the incident as 'really shocking'.

She sent her condolences to the woman's loved ones and also urged anyone with any information to get in touch with officers.

• Any current sightings of Masum should be reported to West Yorkshire Police via 999. Any other information that could assist the investigation should be reported via Live Chat online or by calling 101, quoting log 1071 of April 6.