Whenever asked about anything, they say, 'I don't know anything'

The road outside the eastern boundary wall of Khulna University is known as Hall Road. This road in the Islamnagar area of the city is adjacent to a gate of Khan Jahan Ali Hall (Khaja Hall) of the university.

Opposite, a narrow lane runs through. After a few houses on Mosque Lane, there is a light pink-colored four-story building. The entire building serves as a student hostel.

Azmul Hossain, a first-year student in the English department of the private North Western University, lived in a room on the fourth floor of this hostel.

Late Friday night, he was beaten to death at the hostel on allegations of theft.

Azmul's father, Kutub Uddin, said, “On Friday night, Azmul called and informed me that he was being accused of stealing rice and some money at the hostel, and they were demanding Tk 100,000. I then asked who was there. He said, ‘They are all here'. I asked him to hand over the phone. They told me, 'Uncle, your son has done this, so you should bring Tk 100,000 and come over'. Later, when I came to Khulna, I found my son's body at the morgue of the Medical College Hospital.”

Today, Sunday, at around 11: 30 AM, no one was found at the hostel. Although the hostel was open, each room in the four-story building was locked. Each floor of the building has eight rooms. It was in one of these rooms on the fourth floor that Azmul lived. Next to Azmul's room was the staircase of the building. That night, he was beaten and taken to the roof.

Until 12: 30 PM, no students or residents were found in the building except for journalists. Although no one currently occupies the rooms, clothing and shoes used by the students were visible in the corridor. The gate to the roof was also open.

When asked for comments, none of the local residents were willing to speak. Most avoided the topic by saying, ‘I wasn’t there, I don’t know'. An elderly man from a nearby lane said, ‘Baba, all students live here. If there’s trouble, no one wants that. There are more students in the area than locals'.

Apart from university students, many aspiring medical and university students from neighbouring districts rent rooms in various hostels in the area.

A student residing in a nearby building told Prothom Alo, "The atmosphere is a bit different now. Until noon yesterday, there was normal human activity. Today, the traffic has decreased considerably. Everyone is a bit silent."

When asked what happened that night, he said, "I don’t know anything about it".

A student of Khulna University living in the Molla Tower lane adjacent to the Khan Jahan Ali Hall gate said that the campus and its surroundings are relatively normal. However, Mosque Lane is somewhat quieter now. They have heard that those involved in the beating have fled. There is a movement ongoing at the campus (Khulna University) demanding justice for those involved in the murder.

However, yesterday, Saturday, three people, including a local woman, reported hearing screams from the building at night. They also reported seeing the student being taken to the hospital after one o'clock at night.

Meanwhile, in connection with the incident, Azmul's father, Md. Kutub Uddin, has filed a murder case at Harintana Police Station in Khulna.

The Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Harintana Police Station, Iqbal Hossain, stated that the case includes the names of four current and former students of Khulna University and unidentified 20 to 25 individuals as accused. However, until 1: 45 PM today, the police have been unable to detain or arrest anyone.