Police do not appear convinced with the Rapid Action Battalion’s (RAB) claim of having solved the murder mystery of Rajshahi University Professor Shafiul Islam hinting at a personal issue and implicating a Jubo Dal leader.
Abdus Samad Pintu, 34, former vice-president of the RU unit of BNP’s student front Chhatra Dal and now a leader of the party’s youth front, wanted Shafiul killed because the professor had “misbehaved” with his wife,RAB said.
According to RAB, the arrestees admitted that Pintu was the mastermind and five others executed the killing mission, all of whom have been arrested in Dhaka and Rajshahi. They were brought before the media in a briefing at the Dhaka headquarters of the force yesterday.
Rajshahi police, who believe that Jamaat-e-Islami and its student front Islami Chhatra Shibir were involved with the murder, said they would interrogate the six arrested by RAB because a “personal issue” could not be the only motive.
The five others arrested by RAB are Katakhali Municipality unit Jubo Dal Organising Secretary Ariful Islam Manik, 33, and Md Sabuj Sheikh, 18, Sirajul Islam Kalu, 22, Md Al-Mamun, 31 and Ibrahim Khalil alias Tokai Babu, 21.
Police later claimed that Sabuj, Mamun and Babu were Shibir activists.
RAB’s version
During yesterday’s media briefing, Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of RAB’s Media Wing, said: “Pintu’s wife Nasreen is an officer at the accounts section of the university. Shafiul had misbehaved with her. The arrestees admitted that they had killed the teacher over the incident.”
The RAB official did not elaborate on the nature of “misbehaviour.” However, another RAB official, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that it was “sexual abuse.”
When reminded that Rajshahi police had found Jamaat-Shibir militant link with the murder, the RAB director said they found nothing of the sort.
RAB also said two others – Rajshahi district Jubo Dal Convenor Anwar Hossain Uzzal and “Jamai” Babu, who they thought were also involved with the murder – are on the run.
According to RAB, Pintu and Uzzal first made the plan to kill the professor while Jubo Dal leader Ariful Islam Manik led the attack. Sabuj was the first to hack Shafiul.
RAB further said apart from the six already arrested and the two absconding, they also suspected three others who were part of the 11 arrested by police in connection with the murder. They are Arif, Sagar and Jinnah.
Mufti said 10-15 days before the incident, Pintu had locked into an altercation with the teacher, who had allegedly misbehaved with his wife and informed Uzzal, a local political muscle-man, of the incident. Uzzal had then asked Manik to kill the professor.
“The killers, led by Manik, surrounded the teacher when he reached Chouddopara near the [Rajshahi] University Housing Society area.
As Manik drew first blood, Shafiul fell and Mamun, Arif, Babu and Kalu hacked him. They left the area after they were certain that the victim was dead.”
After the media briefing, Manik told reporters: “One day while we were having tea, Uzzal and Pintu told me to do the job because Sir [Prof Shafiul] knew them. We failed three times earlier because we did not know him by his face.”
Manik also said: “On November 5, Pintu followed Sir and we took position on the road near his house. When he came close, Pintu indicated that it was him. We were seven and had machetes and knives with us. When Sir took the dirt road from the main road, we surrounded him and hacked him.
“We were first told not to kill him as it will result in chaos. We were asked to inflict severe injuries to frighten him. But Sabuj [who police said was a Shibir man] hacked him in the neck.”
When a reporter asked if they were paid for the job, Manik replied in the negative.
Manik also said Sagor was a battery-run autorickshaw driver and the general secretary of a ward-level unit of Chhatra Dal in Rajshahi. Arif was a construction worker and a member of a local municipality-level unit of Jubo Dal. Jinnah, Babu, Mamun were also Jubo Dal members. Jamai Babu was a fish trader and Kalu and Sobuj were unemployed.
A source in the district Jubo Dal said Uzzal was Manik’s backup in Jubo Dal and Pintu’s business partner.
“They [Pintu and Uzzal] have a contractor’s licence in the name of Hossain Enterprise. They have done many things on the campus together. They used Manik as their muscle to control smuggling and tenders,” the source said.
Police’s version
Police have been saying since the beginning that Prof Shafiul’s feud with his pro-Jamaat colleagues was a motive behind the killing.
Yesterday, a team of detectives arrested two people in Bogra – Shariful Islam, teacher of Mostafizur Cadet Madrasa, and Rayhanul Islam Shadhin, a student of class VIII. The first was the creator of the Facebook page titled Ansar al Islam Bangladesh 2 that claimed responsibility for the murder, and the second was the first commenter on that page.
AKM Mahiduzzaman, a deputy commissioner of Rajshahi police, said they had also arrested two blacksmiths named Sadhon and Bhojon from Bogra suspecting that they had made the machetes used in the murder.
Md Shamsuddin, commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, said they were not happy with the RAB probe.
“Misbehaviour with a female employee can be one reason behind the murder but we have found two more clues. We will question those arrested from Bogra and those arrested by RAB to know details,” he said.
The RMP also said Manik was a notorious criminal and accused in at least 17 cases.
Interestingly, according to a source, Ibrahim Hossain Moon, former leader of Awami League’s student body Chhatra League’s RU unit and a close friend of Uzzal, arrived at the spot just five to six minutes after the murder and talked to Alamgir Hossain, OC of Motihar police station.
About 10 minutes later on that day, Alamgir told the media that the teacher had been killed over a family matter. However, asked how he could be so sure, he could not explain, the source said.
Tracking mobile phone and based on witness accounts, the RMP earlier arrested a total of 11 people in connection with the murder and claimed that all of them were involved with Jamaat and Shibir politics.
Forensic findings
After conducting an autopsy on Shafiul’s body, a doctor of Rajshahi Medical College said: “He was hacked seven times. The first one, which was on the neck, was eight inches deep. This suggests that the killers were desperate. That injury cut a vein in his neck.”
Seeking anonymity, he also said: “From my experience, I can tell you that it is the work of professionals.”
