LONDON — Police have charged a 25-year-old man with the murder of Kulsuma Akter, who was stabbed to death as she pushed her baby in a pram in Bradford.

Habibur Masum, from Burnley, was charged on Wednesday, after a four-day manhunt ended in his arrest early on Tuesday morning.

He is scheduled to appear at Bradford Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Four other men aged in their 20s were also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and drug offences.

The four men — all from the West Midlands area — were arrested in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire and are currently in police custody.

In a statement, West Yorkshire Police added that another 23-year-old man who arrested on Monday on suspicion of assisting an offender has been released on bail.

Masum, of Leamington Avenue, has also been charged with possession of a bladed article.

Ms Akter, 27, was found seriously injured at about 15:21 BST on Saturday when officers were called to Westgate in the city centre. She was taken to hospital but later died. Her baby was not harmed in the attack.

Ms Akter's cousin, Aftab Miah, told the BBC earlier in the week that the family was devastated by her death.

He said she had been "polite and humble" and "made the people around her laugh".

"Her mum in Bangladesh, she's constantly crying," Miah said.

Shaun Sigamoney from the CPS said prosecutors "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."

West Yorkshire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) as it had prior contact with Ms Akter before she died.

Masum was arrested in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in the early hours of Tuesday. — BBC