Police now follow RAB lead in university teacher murder probe

Police are now following the RAB lead in investigating the murder of Rajshahi University teacher.

RAB claimed that Professor AKM Shafiul Islam was killed to avenge personal insults.

Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Shamsuddin said at a press conference in the city on Wednesday: “Investigation is moving towards the statements, regarding personal motives, of the six people arrested by RAB.”

The commissioner’s latest statement came only two days after he said that RMP investigation did not find any personal motives behind the murder of Prof Islam.

He, however, said the police were still not ruling out the link of militants and the Jamaat-e-Islami to the murder.

Shamsuddin claimed they were about to crack the murder mystery.

The sociology department teacher was hacked to death near his house in Chouddapai area, adjacent to the campus, on Nov 15.

After the incident, police arrested 11 people and claimed 'Jamaat-e-Islami-controlled' militants carried out the murder.

However, RAB claimed at a press briefing last Sunday that Islam was murdered after he had misbehaved with a female university employee and that there were no connection to the militants.

The elite police unit arrested six people, including two pro-BNP activists, during overnight raids in Dhaka and Rajshahi over the murder.

Meanwhile, five of the six arrested have refused to give statements in court confessing to their crimes.