Police yesterday filed a case against three members of Ansar al-Islam Bangladesh that earlier claimed it had killed Rajshahi University professor AKM Shafiul Islam.
Shafiul Islam, a teacher of Sociology Department of RU, was hacked to death on November 15 on the way to his home near the university campus.
After 38 days of the sensational murder, Abdus Salam, sub-inspector of Motihar police station filed the case in the evening, confirmed Officer-in-charge Alamgir Hossasin.
The accused were named as Shariful Islam, 25, a teacher of Shibganj Upazilla Ghaghurduar Private Cadet College, Raihanul Haque, 15, a student of Class VIII of Gokul Taslim Uddin College under Bogra city and Abdur Rahim of Bogra.
Police arrested Shariful and Raihanul on November 23 from Bogra. They are now in Rajshahi jail while Abdur Rahim is absconding.
Hours after the murder in a post of facebook community page Ansar al-Islam Bangladesh-2 claimed the responsibility for Prof Shafiul’s murder.
“Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Our Mujahideens today have murdered a murtad (atheist) who had prohibited female students from wearing burka in classrooms,” the first ever post of the newly created facebook community page said.
The post also warned all “atheists and murtad” of similar consequences.
Alamgir Hossain, the investigation office in the murder case, said Abdur Rahim created the facebook page and the rest two downloaded the information and pictures.
Later the IT department of police identified them and made the arrest.
Alagmir also said, the accused were held as they created confusion over the murder by posting facebook status and tried to shift the attention of police to a wrong direction.
“Though police could not find the involvement of the accused in the murder, the case was filed against them under the ICT act, 2006,” OC Alamgir also said.
Earlier, police took Shariful and Raihanul on remand under section 54 of Criminal Procedure Code but did not find their involvement in the murder.
A day after the murder, RU registrar Prof Entajul Haque filed a murder case naming none with Motihar police station while about 17 suspects are now in jail in the case.
Meanwhile, RU Teachers Association will form a human chain on December 30 demanding the investigation into the murder be sped up, said RUTA General Secretary Prof Pranab Kumer Panday.
Motihar police station Officer-in Charge Alamgir Hossain, also the investigation officer, told The Dhaka Tribune that police were doing their best to unearth the mystery.
Ifte Khayer Alam, spokesperson of the RMP commissioner and also an assistant commissioner of the Detective Branch, said they were analysing the information gleaned from the arrestees.
He also said, police were currently looking into the involvement of other people in the murder and would take action once the process was completed.
On November 15, unidentified assailants hacked Prof Shafiul to death with machetes in broad daylight near his Choddopai residence close to the university campus.