The shopkeeper, who sold the kerosene used to set Nusrat Jahan Rafi on fire, has given his confessional statement in front of a Feni court.
Feni Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Zakir Hossain recorded the statement of Md Lokman alias Liton under section 164 on Monday afternoon.
According to Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) sources, while providing his statement, Liton said: "The night before Nusrat was set on fire [on April 5], Shahadat Hossain Shamim came to my shop in Bhuiyan Bazar in Sonagazi.
"He gave me Tk70 for one litre of kerosene," Liton said. "But when I wanted to put the kerosene in a container, Shamim asked me to put it in a polythene bag. I immediately became suspicious and asked him what he was buying the kerosene for."
“To that, Shamim replied he was buying it to ignite lumber, upon which I gave him the fuel in a polythene bag,” Liton added.
Nusrat's lawyer, Advocate Shahjahan Shaju, said: "On April 14, Shahadat Hossain Shamim confessed his involvement in Nusrat's murder under section 164. Another accused, Nuruddin, also gave a statement. Their statements were almost identical."
They both said that the decision to burn Nusrat was taken on the night of April 5, during a discussion held at a hostel on the western part of Sonagazi Islamia Fazil (Degree) Madrasa, following their visit to madrasa principal Md Sirajaddaula in jail.
Sirajaddaula was sent to jail after Nusrat filed a sexual harassment case against him on March 27. He was sent there after being denied bail in the harassment case, which is yet to go to trial.
On Sirajaddaula's instructions, Shamim bought the kerosene. He paid another accused, Umme Sultana Poppy's friend, Kamrunnahar Moni, Tk2,000 to buy three burqas, which were then kept on the third floor of a shelter home on the premises of the madrasa.
On the morning of April 6, three of the accused, clad in the burqas, hid in a toilet on the rooftop of the home, with the kerosene and matches. Poppy brought Nusrat to the roof – right before her Alim examination was to start – and with the help of the other three, bound her and set her on fire.
Shamim further said that at the time of the attack, Nuruddin, Hafez Abdul Kader, and five others were guarding the gate downstairs. Immediately after setting Nusrat ablaze, Shamim ran downstairs, climbed the north gate, and called Sonagazi upazila Awami League President Ruhul Amin, to inform him of the matter.
Nusrat's elder brother, Mahmudul Hasan, filed a case with Sonagazi police station, naming eight people in connection with the attack on Nusrat. The case was handed over to PBI on April 10.
Till now, police have arrested 23 people, and with Liton, 11 people have given their confessional statements to the court. Six other suspects are in police remand.
Nusrat, a student of Sonagazi Islamia Fazil (Degree) Madrasa, died of her injuries on April 10, at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
