Former Jahangirnagar University Chhatra League leader beaten to death in Savar

A video of the assault circulated on social media on Wednesday

A former Chhatra League leader from Jahangirnagar University has allegedly been beaten to death by a mob in Savar.

He died during treatment at a local hospital around 10pm on Wednesday, according to Ashulia Police Station chief Md Abu Bakar Siddique.

The dead man was identified as Shameem Ahmed alias Molla Shameem, a student of Jahangirnagar University's 39th batch.

He was the former organisational secretary of the Chhatra League's Jahangirnagar University wing.

A group of students detained Shameem at the university's Prantik Gate area on Wednesday afternoon and carried out the assault, accusing him of instigating an attack on protestors outside the residence of the university's vice-chancellor on Jul 15.

The incident was captured on video and footage of the attack on Shameem began circulating on social media later on Wednesday evening.

Police subsequently took Shamim into custody and admitted him to the Gonoshasthaya Samaj Vittik Medical College in Savar.

"Informed about a mob attack, security officers rescued a former student of batch 39 and brought him to the proctor's office. Later, he was handed over to the police," said Sudipta Shahin, chief officer of the university's security branch.

Shameem was already dead by the time he was brought to the hospital, according to Selimuzzaman Sujon, a physician at Gonoshasthaya Samaj Vittik Medical College.

The initial belief is that he died as a result of the beating, but the actual cause of death will be confirmed by the autopsy report, said Ashulia Police Station chief Abu Bakar.

FIVE ROUNDS OF BEATINGS

However, the circumstances and cause of Shameem's death has since become the subject of conjecture.

Shameem allegedly suffered five rounds of beatings over three hours at the hands of students on Wednesday afternoon.

Instead of admitting him to the hospital, university authorities handed him over to the police afterwards. Law enforcement later took him to the hospital where he was declared dead.

However, Jahangirnagar University's Proctor AKM Rashidul Alam claimed that Shameem managed to walk to the police vehicle after he was handed over to law enforcement.

According to Alam, Shameem was detained by a group of students for allegedly leading an attack on protestors outside the vice-chancellor's residence on Jul 15.

After assaulting him, they turned him over to the university's proctorial body.

The university then notified the Ashulia Police Station, and during initial questioning, Shameem was able to respond to various questions.

Despite the severity of the assaults, university authorities did not arrange for his medical treatment and chose instead to hand him over to the police.

The proctor said that Shameem did not appear to be in critical condition at the time. However, his subsequent death in the police vehicle was later deemed 'unnatural' by university staff.

Police, on the other hand, said that they acted swiftly by taking him to the hospital immediately upon taking him into custody.

Superintendent Ahmed Muid of the Dhaka District Police said, "We rescued him and made immediate arrangements to transport him to the hospital, where he was declared dead by the attending doctor."

Shameem also faced allegations related to land grabbing and drug trafficking, with several cases against him registered at the local police station.

According to witnesses, Shameem was waiting to meet a relative near the university’s Prantik Gate around 5:30pm on Wednesday. Upon spotting him, three students attempted to detain him. After initially grabbing him from behind and assaulting him once, they dragged him inside the campus where he was beaten again near a mobile van selling clothes.

Subsequently, university security personnel came to the scene, confining him next to the proctor’s office where he was assaulted several more times.

Although police were present, they were not permitted to enter the room where he was held. Around 8:30pm, he was handed over to the police and walked to their vehicle.

"Upon his arrival at the hospital around 9:15pm, we found him dead," said Dr Selimuzzaman. "It appeared he had passed away just before arriving at the hospital. The exact cause of death will be determined by an autopsy."

PROTESTS OVER SHAMEEM'S DEATH

A group of students launched a protest over Shameem's death, denouncing it as an 'extrajudicial killing'.

A procession started around 2am on Thursday from the Bot Tola area of the university and circled various roads, ending in front of the vice chancellor's residence.

There, the students demanded that those responsible be punished.

"After a former leader of the Chhatra League was attacked twice on our campus, leading to his death, we stand against any form of extrajudicial killings. If someone commits a crime, they should be punished according to state laws," said Prapti Tapasi, a student from the 47th batch of the Economics Department.

SP Ahmed said that a case is being filed over Shameem's death.