Dhaka, Feb 26 (V7N)-A court has ordered a reinvestigation into the murder of Tofazzal, who was beaten to death on suspicion of theft last year, directing that the investigation report be submitted by May 4.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Saifuzzaman issued this order on Wednesday following an appeal by the Dhaka University administration.
On September 18, at approximately 7:45pm, Tofazzal was beaten to death at Fazlul Haque Muslim Hall of Dhaka University.
The following day, on September 19, Mohammad Amanullah, the supervisor of the university’s estate office, filed a case at Shahbagh police station.
The investigating officer, Inspector Md Asaduzzaman, submitted a charge sheet to the court on December 30, accusing 21 students of the institution.
On February 2, Advocate Selim Javed filed a petition on behalf of the Dhaka University administration, expressing dissatisfaction with the police charge sheet and claiming that the investigation was not conducted properly.
After a hearing, the court initially set February 18 as the date for its order, which was later postponed to Wednesday, February 26.
The accused in the charge sheet include former deputy secretary for science and technology of the Fazlul Haque Hall branch of the Chhatra League and physics student Md Jalal Mia, as well as Sumon Mia from the Department of Soil, Water and Environment, Md Mottakin Sakin from the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, Al Hossain Sajjad from the Department of Geography, and residential students Ahsan Ullah, Wazibul Alam, Firoz Kabir, Abdus Samad, Shakib Raihan, Yasin Ali, Yamuzzaman Yam, Fazle Rabbi, Shahriar Kabir Shovon, Mehedi Hasan Imran, Ratul Hasan, Sultan Mia, Nasir Uddin, Mobashwer Billah, Shishir Ahmed, Mohsin Uddin, and Abdullahil Kafi.
Among them, the first six have given confessional statements in court.
According to the case statement, Mohammad Amanullah reported that at approximately 7:45pm on September 18, a young man was seen roaming suspiciously near the gate of Fazlul Haque Muslim Hall at Dhaka University.
Some students detained him and took him to the main guest room of the hall, accusing him of mobile phone theft. They slapped and punched him indiscriminately. During questioning, the young man identified himself as Tofazzal.
Upon realizing he was mentally unstable, they took him to the hall’s canteen and gave him food. However, they later tied his hands to a window in the guest room of the southern building of the hall and brutally beat him with stamps, hockey sticks, and wooden rods until he lost consciousness, says the case documents.
Tofazzal was from Kathaltali union in Patharghata upazila, Barguna.
A few days later, on September 25, the victim’s cousin, Mst Asma Akter, filed a case against Prof Shah Mohammad Masum, the provost of Fazlul Haque Muslim Hall, and 15 others at the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court.
The court recorded the plaintiff’s statement and ordered that this case be investigated alongside the one filed by the university authorities.
In this case, apart from Shah Mohammad Masum, Dhaka University students Jalal Mia, Sumon Mia, Firoz Kabir, Abdus Samad, Mottakin Sakin Shah, Al Hossain Sajjad, Wazibul Alam, Ahsan Ullah, Fazle Rabbi, Yamuzzaman, Rashed Kamal Anik, Shahriar Kabir Shovon, Mehedi Hasan Imran, and Md Sultan were named as accused.
END/MSS/AJ
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