A case has been filed against 15 individuals, including Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall Provost Prof Shah Muhammad Masum, over the beating death of a young man named Tofazzal on suspicion of theft at the dorm earlier this month.
On Wednesday, the victim's cousin, Mosammat Asma Akter, submitted the case application to the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Akteruzzaman in Dhaka. The court has accepted the application.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Nazmul Hasan, confirmed the development, saying that the investigation for this case will be temporarily suspended, as another case had already been filed regarding the incident.
The court will recall the earlier case, and the investigation will proceed by consolidating the charges from both cases.
Other accused in the case include Dhaka University students Jalal Mia, Sumon Mia, Firoz Kabir, Abdus Samad, Mottakin Sakin Shah, Al Hossain Sajjad, Wazibul Alam, Ahsan Ullah, Fazle Rabbi, Yamus Zaman, Rashed Kamal Onik, Shahriar Kabir Shovon, Mehedi Hasan Imran, and Md Sultan.
According to the initial complaint filed by the Dhaka University administration, on the evening of September 18, at around 7:45pm, a young man was seen suspiciously loitering near the gate of Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall.
Some university students apprehended him and took him to the guest room of the main building of the hall.
They accused him of stealing a mobile phone and began slapping and punching him indiscriminately. During questioning, the youth identified himself as Tofazzal.
Realizing he was mentally unstable, they took him to the hall canteen for a meal.
Later, they tied his hands to a window in the guest room of the south building and beat him severely with stamps, hockey sticks, and rods, leaving him unconscious. He was then taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
On September 19, Mohammad Amanullah, the supervisor of the university’s estate office, filed the initial case at Shahbagh police station.
Following the case, police arrested six students, who later gave confessional statements in court. The six, currently in prison, are Jalal Mia, Sumon Mia, Md Mottakin Sakin, Al Hossain Sajjad, Ahsan Ullah, and Wazibul Alam.