Islamia Degree College's Principal Humayun Ahmed and five others have been detained over the murder of Rajshahi University (RU) teacher AKM Shafiul Islam.
Published : 16 Nov 2014, 04:23 PM
Islamia College principal held over RU teacher's killing
Rajshahi University teachers boycott classes protesting colleague’s murder
Islamist group claim responsibility of RU teacher murder
Rajshahi University teachers to boycott classes protesting colleague's murder
Ahmed along with three unidentified others were picked up from Binodpur, adjacent to the university campus, on Sunday, Motihar police OC Alamgir Hossain said.
“Preliminary findings suggest that two assailants took part in the attack,” he said.
Islamia Degree College is a stronghold of Jamaat-e-Islami's student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir.
The 48-year old sociology teacher, who was attacked near the campus on Saturday afternoon, passed away an hour later before the doctors could operate on him at the Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital.
His head and shoulder bore fatal injuries and the RAB recovered a machete from the spot.
Three others were detained during Sunday's raid, said Metropolitan detective police's OC Abdul Majid, but did not disclose their identities.
He said the four were being questioned at the Detective Branch headquarters.
Two more were detained earlier on Saturday, after raiding the areas around the teachers’ residential area, Bihas Palli, hours after the attack.
The motive behind the killing remains unclear but a self-proclaimed militant organisation ‘Ansar al Islam Bangladesh-2' have claimed responsibility on Facebook.
"Our Mujahideens (fighters) executed a 'Murtad' (apostate) today in Rajshahi who had prohibited female students in his department to wear Burka (veil)," it said.
State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Sunday said investigators were not ruling out possible involvement of political parties or militants.
“Detectives are working on several motives. This could be political or the work of militants. But nothing specific can be said now.”
The Rajshahi University teachers have boycotted all classes and examinations protesting against their colleague's death. He is the third Rajshahi University teacher to have been killed in the span of a decade.
“Teachers of this university are sad and scared,” said marketing associate professor Md Shah Azam in a meeting organised in protest.
“If you murder someone for supporting democracy and independence, you not only murder a man but the entire university,” he said.
On Feb 1, 2006, assailants entered the campus home of geology professor S Taher and stashed his body in a sewerage hole after killing him.
In 2004, economics teacher Md Yunus Ali was killed in Binodpur, a village next to campus. Two militants were later sentenced to death for his killing.