Jobayed murder: Prime suspect Mahir’s mother hands him over to police

Rekha Akter, the mother of Mahir Rahman—the prime suspect in the murder of Jagannath University Chhatra Dal leader Md Jobayed Hossain—has handed her son over to the police. 

According to a relative, she went to the capital’s Bangshal police station on Monday morning and personally turned him in.

Mahir’s uncle, Imran Sheikh, told Prothom Alo on Monday evening, “Police picked me up around 3:00 am Monday after finding evidence of Mahir’s involvement in the killing. Learning this, Mahir’s mother, Rekha Akter, took him to Bangshal police station around 7:00 am today, Monday, and handed him over. Police released me around 6:00 am after finding that I was not involved with the incident.”

Police, however, did not confirm that Mahir was handed over by his mother. The law enforcement, rather, said that three suspects, including Mahir, had been arrested in connection with the murder. 

Md Aminul Kabir Torofdar, additional deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Lalbagh division), told Prothom Alo, “We have uncovered the motive behind the killing, and details will be disclosed soon.”

On Sunday night, police recovered the bloodstained body of Jobayed from the staircase of a building in Old Dhaka’s Armanitola. There were stab wounds on his neck.

Jobayed was a student of the Statistics Department of Jagannath University’s 2019–20 academic session and a member of the convening committee of the university’s Chhatra Dal unit.

According to police and classmates, Jobayed used to tutor an HSC-level female student at the building. After discovering his body, police took the girl to Bangshal police station for questioning.

Several police officials, requesting anonymity, said that multiple teams raided the homes of Mahir’s relatives that night. Later, Mahir’s mother informed police that she would hand her son over in the morning—and did so as promised.

Officials from the Lalbagh division of police said that preliminary findings suggest the murder was motivated by a love affair. Three people were present during the killing, but it was Mahir who stabbed Jobayed.

Meanwhile, no case had been filed even 18 hours after the killing. Jobayed’s family said they had been trying to file a case since midnight but were unable to do so.

Jobayed’s elder brother, Enayet Hossain Saikat, told Prothom Alo, “We wanted to file a case against six people, including the girl. But the officer-in-charge (OC) of Bangshal police station advised us not to include so many names, saying it would weaken the case.”

Regarding this, ADC Aminul Kabir said, “Jobayed’s family is busy with funeral arrangements. They will file the case later tonight after the burial.”