BUET students continue to protest Abrar murder, demand death to killers

Students from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology continued to protest the murder of fellow student Abrar Fahad, demanding death to those responsible for the incident.

Their demands also include expulsion of the killers from BUET within 72 hours and speedy trial.

The students brought out a procession on the campus around 10:30am and gathered in front of the Central Shaheed Minar on Tuesday. A group of Dhaka University students also joined the protesters around 12 noon.

Former BUET students and members of BUET Teachers' Association expressed solidarity with the students' protests.

“This is totally unacceptable that a student will die from torture in a residential hall of a university,” said AKM Masud, president of the association.

“It is the duty of the university authorities to ensure the safety of students and others on the entire campus. Abrar Fahad’s death has proved the authorities’ complete failure to ensure the safety of students.”

On Sunday, a resident of Sher-e-Bangla Hall, Abrar was called up from his room at 7:30pm on Sunday. Later, police found his body on the first-floor stairway of the hall at 2am.

Classmates of Abrar claimed that BCL men beat him to death suspecting his involvement with Islami Chhatra Shibir.

Abrar's father Barkatullah subsequently started a case against 19 people over the macabre incident after police detained ten BCL members, including BUET Chhatra League General Secretary Mehedi Hassan Russel for interrogation.

Based on its own probe, the Bangladesh Chhatra League has permanently expelled 11 members of its BUET chapter over their alleged links to the murder of Abrar, it said.

Abrar’s body was taken to his ancestral home in Kushtia after the Namaz-e-Janaza or funeral prayer at the BUET Central Mosque on Monday.

He was laid to rest in front of his home at around 11am after another funeral prayer at Central Eidgah premises in Raidanga village.

“It’s a planned homicide. They tortured him for six hours,” said Barkatullah, Abrar’s father, a retired employee from BRAC.