Police suspect ‘gang of exam frauds’ killed RU student Lipu

Rajshahi University (RU) student Motaleb Hossain Lipu has been killed by ‘a gang of exam frauds’ on the very night he returned to the dormitory from home, suspect a classmate and investigators.

Badrul Hasan Liton and Ibrahim Khalilbdnews24.com
Published : 21 Oct 2016, 08:42 PM
Updated : 21 Oct 2016, 08:42 PM

Police have found that Lipu, a second year student of mass communication and journalism, had spent three months in jail for sitting in a teachers’ registration test under someone else’s identity last year.

He was a member of the gang of fraudsters but after coming out of the prison he had locked in a dispute with the gang as he wanted to leave the group, a classmate told bdnews24.com requesting anonymity.

The classmate added that Lipu had also said that he was given death threats over that matter.

Matihar police OC Humayun Kabir on Friday told bdnews24.com that they were considering Lipu’s death a murder and giving importance on the suspicion on the ‘gang of exam frauds’ in their investigation.

Matihar police OC Kabir said they detained four people including Lipu’s roommate Monirul Islam and questioned them after recovering the body.

“Three of them were released after questioning. But we have kept Monirul in custody for further questioning,” he added.

Lipu’s father Badar Uddin also said Lipu had smashed his mobile phone out of anger on Tuesday after receiving a threat.

“Lipu was very scared. He didn’t want to return to the university. He had only said that he was in trouble,” Badar told bdnews24.com on Friday.

“But we made him go to fill up the form to sit for his final exams,” he said, adding that they had asked Lipu to stay at a relative’s house in the city’s Katakhali area for safety.

Lipu returned to campus on Tuesday afternoon from his village home of  Harinakundu in Jhenaidah district.

His mother Hosne Ara Begum said Lipu filled out the form on Wednesday morning. His second year final exams were supposed to start from Nov 2.

She said Lipu also called and spoke with her in the afternoon using his SIM card in a friend’s mobile phone after he returned to his room at  Nawab Abdul Latif Hall in Rajshahi University.

Lipu’s naked dead body was found on Thursday morning in drain beside the dormitory dining hall.

The forensic expert at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, who conducted the autopsy later on the day of his death, said Lipu had received, in medical terminology, a ‘blunt force trauma to head’.

Lipu’s cousin Md Sajibuddin said there was no sign at the spot where the body that Lipu fell from the roof.

He claimed Lipu was a premeditated murder.

Lipu’s classmate thinks that he was killed as he had known the identities of members of that gang of frauds.

“After getting released from jail, Lipu had told me that he would never return to that cheating business. But the problem was that he knew who were in that gang. That’s why he was given threats every now and then,” said the classmate.

Lipu’s grief-stricken father Badar Uddin, however, said he knew about the threats, but did not know who were behind it.

He said the family now only wanted punishment to the killers.