University student murder in Khulna: Road blocked for two and half hrs in protest demanding justice

Students blocked roads and staged protests in Khulna demanding justice for the death of private university student Md Azmul Hossain, who was beaten to death over allegations of theft and the immediate arrest of those involved.

At around 11:15am on Monday, students of North Western University began the programme in the Sonadanga bus stand area of the city. Later, students of Northern University of Business and Technology also expressed solidarity with them.

Khulna City Corporation Administrator Nazrul Islam joined the protest rally and expressed solidarity with the students. The students concluded their programme around 1:30pm.

During the protest, the students chanted various slogans. They held placards reading, "Emptying a mother's chest for a morsel of rice,” “We demand justice for Azmul’s killing” and “Why was my brother killed? We want answers.”

Vehicle movement in the Sonadanga bus stand area came to a halt because of the blockade. However, the students left a lane open for ambulances to pass.

Sheikh Tashik Ahmed, a student of North Western University, said the authorities had assured them that the accused would be arrested within 24 hours and the charge sheet filed within 30 days.

At the protest rally, North Western University Vice-Chancellor Kanai Lal Sarkar said, “This cannot be done by one man. He was beaten by a group involving several students. We also saw injury marks on different parts of his body. From what we saw with our own eyes, it appeared that he had been brutally beaten.”

He alleged that no one had been arrested even though nearly 60 hours had passed since the incident.

Iqbal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Harintana Police Station, told Prothom Alo around 12:45pm that no one had been arrested in the case so far. Efforts are underway to make arrests, he said adding that every piece of information was being verified.

He also said the police were giving importance to ensuring that no innocent person was harassed.

Azmul was taken to the rooftop of his four-storey mess building on Friday night and beaten after being accused of theft. At one point, he fell from the rooftop, according to students in the area. He was taken to Khulna Medical College Hospital in critical condition, where he died.