Ex-BCL leader Masud beaten to death in Rajshahi. He lost a leg earlier

Abdullah Al Masud, a former leader of Chhatra League, the student wing of the Awami League at Rajshahi University, has been beaten to death.

He came under attack at Binodpur bazar adjacent to Rajshahi University on Saturday night, and later he was critically injured and was handed over to the police station.

He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at around 12:30am.

SM Masud Parvez, the officer-in-charge (OC) of the Boalia police station, confirmed the incident.

He told Prothom Alo that the attack on Masud stemmed from allegations of violence against students and the public on 5 August.

Later a group of students immediately took him to the Matihar police station.

However, as there was no case registered regarding the 5 August violence at Matihar, he was transferred to Boalia police station so that he could be shown arrested in a case related to violence.

According to the OC, Masud sustained severe injuries from the mob beating, and with army assistance he was taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. He died there. The family may take legal steps if they want.

Rajshahi Medical College Hospital's spokesperson Shankar Kumar Biswas confirmed Masud’s death and stated that the exact cause of death will be determined following an autopsy.

Abdullah Al Masud was a former assistant secretary of the Rajshahi University Chhatra League and a member of its central committee. He was a resident of the city’s Budhpara area.

On the morning of 29 April 2014, while on his way to class, Masud was attacked in front of the university’s Zia Hall.

During the assault, the lower part of his right leg was severed from the ankle, and his left leg was severely injured. His arm’s tendons were also cut.

After losing his leg in that attack, Masud had been using a prosthetic limb. On Saturday night, his remaining leg was broken. After Masud was brought to Boalia police station, a video of him speaking has been circulating on social media.

In the video, while lying in the police station lockup, Masud can be heard saying, "I came to Binodpur to get medicine, brother. I was targeted because I used to be with Chhatra League. But my leg was amputated back in 2014. All the tendons were cut. I had stopped being involved with Chhatra League a long time ago."

At the time Masud was brought in, Salahuddin Ammar, one of the coordinators of the student movement against discrimination at Rajshahi University, was present at Boalia police station.

On 5 August, he had brought two youths to the police station on charges of rape and murder of a student. He also saw Masud at the police station.

When asked about Masud’s death, Salahuddin Ammar told Prothom Alo on Sunday morning, "We were busy with the two people we had brought in. During that time, I saw someone being brought in who was injured. However, I couldn’t identify who had brought him. I only heard that a Chhatra League activist had been captured, similar to other such captures."

He added that he had placed Masud inside to ensure no one else could attack him. Apart from this, he didn’t know anything else and was unaware at the time that the injured person was Masud.

Sources at Rajshahi University revealed that after being unemployed for a long time, Abdullah Al Masud wrote a letter to then prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the end of 2022, seeking employment.

Following this, on 6 December of the same year, the director-7 of the prime minister’s office, Mir Tafeya Siddika, sent a letter to the vice-chancellor of Rajshahi University recommending Masud to be appointed as a section officer of the university.

In response to the letter from the prime minister’s office, the university authorities appointed Abdullah Al Masud as a store officer at the university’s Medical Center on 20 December 2022. He joined the position on 22 December and had been serving there since. On 3 September, he became a father.

On Saturday, Masud shared a photo of his newborn child on Facebook, writing, “Alhamdulillah. All praises to Almighty Allah. On 3 September 2024, I became the father of a daughter. I pray to Almighty Allah for a long and healthy life. I request all relatives, well-wishers, and friends to pray for me and my daughter."