DU students’ involvement revealed 2 years after murder

Police arrested a student of Dhaka University (DU) over murder of a youth two years ago. The DU student was traced, thanks to a mobile phone number.

Arrested Sheikh Maruf Hossain alias Sujan, 26, is a third year student of political science department at DU. He is also vice president of Surja Sen Hall unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League. 

Back on 1 June in 2021, several youths admitted an unconscious youth named Abul Hasan, 32, to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). The youth died that day. Abul Hasan’s father Abdul Matin filed an unnatural death case with Shahbagh police station.

The police came to know that it was not an unnatural death recently after receiving the autopsy report of Abul Hasan. He was actually killed. Abul Hasan was an employee of a mobile servicing shop in Eastern Mallika market in the capital. He is from Lakshmipur Sadar. He lived with his family at a house in the city’s Elephant Road.

Investigation sources said that Abul Hasan used to take drugs and one evening in the last week of May 2021, he went to the Nilkhet area adjacent to DU campus to take drugs. There he locked into an altercation with Maruf and his two friends Tariqul Islam (Tareq) and Rajib Hossain. In a sequel of that incident, Maruf and his two friends attacked Abul Hasan at Suhrawardy Udyan area one week later. Among the attackers, Tariqul was a DU student too. These three took critically injured Abul Hasan to DMCH.

After receiving the post-mortem report of Abul Hasan, his father Abdul Mateen filed a murder case with Shahbagh police station accusing unknown persons on 4 June. After that, the police started the investigation.

Sources related to the investigation said they first checked Abul Hasan’s admission documents in DMCH and got a name and number from the register book. But anyone with that name was not found. Later police collected the Call Details Record (CDR) of that phone number but failed to get detailed information of CDR since the number was switched off for several years.

Police later inquired whose name the number is registered and came to know that the phone number was registered in the name of Jamal Hossain alias Peda from Patuakhali. Jamal was detained and interrogated by the police on the suspicion of involvement in Abul Hasan's murder.

Later Jamal was shown the picture of Abul Hasan but could not recognize him. Jamal during the interrogation shared about his brother who is DU student Tariqul. Police then start to suspect that Tariqul is involved with the murder. The investigators collected the CDR of Tariqul’s number and examined it. Tariqul is yet to be found. Investigation officer Amal Krishna Dey, sub inspector (SI) of Shahbagh police station, said police started looking for Sheikh Maruf Hossain after investigation revealed his involvement with the murder.

Shahbagh police station’s officer in charge Nur Mohammad said Maruf was arrested from Jashore’s Benapole. He told Prothom Alo on Thursday night that Maruf gave a confessional statement to Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court that day. Effort is on to arrest Tariqul and others involved with the murder.

Investigating officer Amal Krishna Dey told Prothom Alo that Tariqul deliberately hid his name and identity in the register book of DMCH that day to cover his involvement with the murder. And the number he mentioned was switched off for six years. The investigators came to know details of the murder trailing the number provided at the register book of DMCH.

Police sources said Abul Hasan went to Suhrawardy Udyan on 1 June in 2021, about a week after conflict with Maruf and Tariqul centering drug consumption at Nilkhet. Maruf, Tariqul and Rajib also went to the Suhrawardy Udyan knowing Abul Hasan’s location. 

They started beating Abul Hasan indiscriminately. A police report says that Tariqul first kicked Abul Hasan. Two others followed-on. At one point, Abul Hasan fell on a concrete slab when kicked by Tariqul and lost consciousness. Critically injured Abul Hasan was taken to DMCH.

Golam Hossain Khan, investigation officer of Abul Hasan's death case at Shahbagh police station, told Prothom Alo on Thursday night that he had collected information about who brought Abul Hasan to the hospital before getting the autopsy report. However, they could not be identified in any way. Now the mystery of the murder has been unearthed after two years trailing the mobile phone number.

Sources related to the investigation said the accused Sheikh Maruf, Tariqul and Rajib Hossain went into hiding for some day initially. Later they would move around cautiously. The three accused youths went on the run after the case had been filed.

Police officer Golam Hossan said a photo of Tariqul was collected from arrested Jamal. Information was gathered on Tariqul showing that picture to people in DU and nearby areas.

According to police, Tariqul, Maruf and Rajib used to roam around Nilkhet, New Market, Suhrawardy Udya, Mukta Mancha and Lake Park areas and consume drugs together.

Asked about Maruf, Dhaka University’s Surja Sen Hall BCL president Md Mariam Jaman told Prothom Alo that Maruf is the vice president of the hall unit.

The BCL leader said he has no idea if Maruf was arrested in murder case.

Mazharul Kabir, president of DU unit BCL, told Prothom Alo that the party would certainly take organisational action against Maruf if he gives a confessional statement in the court over the murder.

DU proctor Maksudur Rahman said police are yet to inform about any involvement of Maruf in a murder. Strict action would be taken against him if he is arrested for murder.