JU student's body in Buringanga, mystery unresolved

The dead body of Ariful Islam, a Jagannath University student, was recovered from the river Buriganga at Shyampur, Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon.

The police still could not confirm whether he drowned or was killed.

Ariful's family, however, suspects he was murdered. He was buried at Raipur in Jibannagar upazila of Chuadanga Wednesday. The naval police had recovered his body around 4:30pm Tuesday.

Ariful was a fourth year student of political science. He lived in a mess at Road 1, Ispahani Nadidhara residential area of Aganagar, Dakkhin Keraniganj. Other students live in the area too.

Residents of the mess said Ariful left his mess around 10:30am on Monday. He went out for tuition at Lakshmipur area of Sutrapur. He was missing since then. His cell phone and wallet were recovered from a boatman at Ispahani river bank.

"My brother's death is mysterious. It can be a planned murder," said Ariful's brother Rashedul Islam.

Rumours of his being a leader of quota reform movement have spread in the social media. Several of Ariful's classmates said he was neither involved in politics nor the quota reform movement.

"I know them from their childhood. They were never involved in any scuffles. Ariful was a good student and he might have become a university teacher," Rawshan Alam, union parishad member of Raipur union said. Ariful's brother was a Dhaka University student.

"Investigations are being carried out. The deceased's family and his classmates are being interrogated. Every possible angle is being scrutinised,' Dakkhin Keraniganj police station inspector (investigation) Kamal Talukdar said.