SM Sirajuddaula, the principal of Sonagazi Islamia Fazil (Degree) Madrasa in Feni, has confessed in court that he ordered his followers to kill Alim examinee Nusrat Jahan Rafi for having him arrested in a sexual harassment case, police say.
The prime accused in the Nusrat murder case gave his confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to Feni’s Senior Judicial Magistrate Zakir Hossain on Sunday, according to PBI Additional Superintendent of Police Moniruzzaman.
Briefing reporters after the five-hour-long recording session, PBI Chittagong Division’s Special SP Md Iqbal said Sirajuddaula started giving his statement in the murder case around 4pm and finished around 9pm.
Quoting the now-suspended madrasa principal, he said Nuruddin, Shahadat Hossain Shamim, Jabed Hossain, Abdul Kader and a few others visited Sirajuddaula on April 4 in jail.
Sirajuddaula said: “They said Nusrat should be severely punished for her transgression against the Alems [by accusing him in the sexual harassment case filed last month]. They wanted me to give them an order about that.
“I became emotional and said: ‘Alright. You people do something. Put pressure on her to drop the case. I told them to burn her to death if she refuses and make it look like she committed suicide.”
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Including Sirajuddaula, nine accused have so far given confessional statements over the murder of the 18-year-old girl, said SSP Iqbal, before adding that they have either arrested or detained 23 people in this case till now.
On April 10, another Feni court had put Sirajuddaula on a seven-day remand in the murder case.
According to PBI sources, a total of 25 people were either directly or indirectly involvement in the murder.
Earlier, Nuruddin, Shahadat, Umme Sultana Popy alias Shampa, Kamrunahar Moni, Jabed, Abdur Rahim alias Sharif, Kader and Jobayer Ahmed confessed to their involvement in the murder.
Of them, Shahadat, Jabed, Jobayer, Popy and Moni had set Nusrat on fire, SSP Iqbal maintained.
On April 6, Nusrat was set afire on the roof of the madrasa at Sonagazi by those loyal to Sirajuddaula, after she refused to withdraw the sexually harassment case against Sirajuddaula filed by her family last month.
After the attack, her brother Mahmudul Hasan Noman filed another case naming eight people, including Sirajuddaula, on April 8.
Nusrat succumbed to her 80% burn injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in Dhaka on April 10.
After her death, murder charges were included in the second case and it was transferred to PBI the same day.
Six people are still in remand.
MPOs suspended
Meanwhile, the government has suspended the monthly pay order (MPO) facilities of Sirajuddaula and Absar Uddin, an English lecturer in the madrasa.
Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury approved a file on this on Sunday, reports UNB.
Absar was also arrested earlier and is currently in police custody in the murder case.
Issuing an MPO, the government gives 100% basic pay to enlisted teachers of non-government schools. They also get a small allowance in the MPO.
