Investigation into the murder of Chittagong University’s first year student and Chhatra League activist Tapos Sarker is at the final stage, but the police are yet to arrest the prime accused though one year has passed since the killing.
Eight of the 30 accused were arrested by Hathazari police while the Police Bureau of Investigation officials arrested another recently. PIB took the charge of the case in August.
“The investigation is nearly complete. We have sent the Memo of Evidence report to the Police Headquarters seeking permission to press charges in the case,” Chittagong PBI Inspector Mia Jahid Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune.
Key accused Ashrafuzzaman Asha, the former deputy cultural affair secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League’s CU unit, is still on the run.
Inspector Jahid said that they were conducting operations to arrest Asha, “but he is changing location frequently. He has recently gone to the capital from Jessore.”
Police said Asha had shot the bullet that killed Tapos during a clash on the campus between two groups of Chhatra League ensued over placing wreaths on the occasion of Martyred Intellectuals Day on December 14 last year. He was a first year student of Sangskrit department.
The rival groups, backed by Chittagong Awami League leaders, engaged in clashes at least seven times within three months. Tapos, an activist of shuttle train-based group Choose Friend with Care, was killed in the last incident of violence.
According to the autopsy report, Tapos was killed in a bullet that hit his chest. It was fired from a 0.32 bore pistol.
Following the clash, police had raided Shahjalal Hall and recovered one light gun and four rounds of pistol bullets, and arrested 30 Chhatra League members.
Later police filed an arms case mentioning the names of five Chhatra League men while a classmate of Tapos filed the murder case accusing 30 leaders and activists of the rival group including Asha on December 16.
Family members of the victim are frustrated over the pace of investigation. His elder brother Ashish Sarker demanded capital punishment of the killers.
On the other hand, the university authorities are yet to disclose the findings of an investigation report prepared by a five-member probe body formed after the murder.
Prof Khan Tawhid Osman, head of probe committee, told Dhaka Tribune that they had submitted the report to then vice-chancellor Prof Anwarul Azim Arif in May this year.
The submission contains video clips, TV reports and interviews, newspaper clippings, and a number of recommendations to avert student violence.