Khulna University student arrested over beating of another student to death for ‘rice stealing’

Police have detained a student in connection with the killing of Azmal Hossain, who was beaten to death at a student hostel near Khan Jahan Ali Hall of Khulna University, allegedly over accusations that he had “stolen rice.”

The detained student, Rifat, is a 16th-batch student of the Department of Fisheries & Marine Technology (FMRT) at Khulna University. He hails from the Gunerghati area in Sirajganj Sadar.

He was detained from a house in Swarupkathi Upazila of Pirojpur on Monday night, said Iqbal Hossain, chief of Harintana Police Station in Khulna city.

The officer said, “Rifat was present when Azmal was beaten. He fled after the incident.”

Azmal Hossain, 21, was a native of Baro Sholua village in Darshana, Chuadanga. He was a first-semester student in the English Department of North Western University in Khulna.

Police recovered Azmal’s body on Sept 18 from an alley of a student hostel on Islamnagar Road, behind Khaja Khan Jahan Ali Residential Hall near Khulna University.

According to local residents, the four-storey building is entirely used as a shared accommodation or hostel for students, with 50 to 60 students living there. Azmal had rented room D-8 on the fourth floor about a year ago. There are eight rooms on the fourth floor. Mehedi, a former student of Gopalganj University of Engineering and Technology, who serves as the accommodation manager, lives in room D-2.

Local residents learned from students at the hostel that Azmal had eaten Mehedi’s rice on Friday night. Several students from the mess and outsiders then allegedly took Azmal to the rooftop and beat him, accusing him of stealing and eating the rice.

Residents nearby later heard the sound of something falling from the rooftop. They subsequently found Azmal lying in the alley. Students from the mess took him to Khulna Medical College Hospital by ambulance, where doctors declared him dead.

The following day, Saturday, Azmal’s father Qutub Uddin filed a murder case with Harintana Police Station, naming four people and accusing another 25 unidentified individuals.

The police officer said, “Rifat recently got a job at the Agricultural Bank. He used to commute to the bank while staying at Azmal’s hostel. Interrogating him may provide further important information.”