Police suspect 'jealous rage' may have led to murder of JnU's Jobayed

Investigators say a jealous boyfriend may have murdered Jobayed after learning that his girlfriend liked him

Police suspect that a "romantic rivalry" may have led to the killing of Jobayed Hossen, a Chhatra Dal leader at Jagannath University (JnU). They suspect the killing may have involved the boyfriend of a woman whom he tutored becoming jealous as she is said to have "liked" him.

The student, however, told police during preliminary questioning that she was totally unaware of the murder.

Bangshal Police Station chief Rafiqul Islam said on Monday that the woman was interrogated after being taken into custody over Jobayed's killing.

During questioning, she told police that she had been in a nine-year relationship with Mahir Rahman, a first-year student at Sheikh Borhan Uddin College in Old Dhaka, while she herself is a second-year student at Dhaka Mohanagar Mohila College.

"The two grew up as neighbours and had been in a relationship for a long time. They have liked each other since they were fourth graders," said Rafiqul.

“However, their relationship recently became strained. A few days ago, they broke up and the woman told her boyfriend that she liked Jobayed. We believe that out of anger and jealousy, Mahir, along with some friends, might have killed Jobayed.”

Rafiqul added that while the woman admitted telling her boyfriend she liked Jobayed, there was no evidence that she ever expressed her feelings to Jobayed himself or had any romantic relationship with him. “There were no messages exchanged between them suggesting a relationship. It appears her words may have provoked her boyfriend to act in anger.”

WOMAN LOOKED POISED

Commenting on the woman's demeanour, Rafiqul said police did not find her visibly upset or nervous after the incident. “There was no sign of dejection in her, she never cried. During interrogation, she wasn’t nervous. She was poised throughout," he said.

"We’ll conduct a thorough investigation and formally reveal all the details,” he added.

Jobayed was a student of JnU's Statistics Department from the 2019-20 academic year. He was a member of the convening committee of the Chhatra Dal's JnU wing, while also serving as the president of Cumilla Student Welfare Council.

He had been tutoring the female student in physics, chemistry and biology at her home in Old Dhaka's Armanitola for around a year.

Jobayed was fatally stabbed around 4:45pm on Sunday on the ground floor of the student's house. He managed to climb up to the third floor of the house before collapsing.

The blood-soaked body of Jobayed was found on the staircase with his face down.

The news of his death triggered outrage among his friends and fellow Chhatra Dal activists. They rushed from the campus to Noor Box Lane and gathered at the scene, chanting slogans demanding justice.

Police questioned the female student and her family members at the house for about five hours. The student was then taken into custody at 11pm, and Jobayed's body was sent to Mitford Hospital for post-mortem.

Later that night, students and Chhatra Dal activists blocked the main road in the Tantibazar area around 10:45pm, demanding justice. After blocking the road for about an hour, they marched towards Bangshal Police Station around 11:15pm.

NO CASE FILED

Eighteen hours after the killing, no case had been filed as of 11am on Monday. Jobayed's family has reportedly been trying to file a case since 1am but have failed.

Asked about the matter, Rafiqul said: “We need some more time to decide who to name as suspects and are gathering information about them.”

“We are conducting drives to arrest the suspects. The case is under way.”