Muhammad Imtiaz Sultan filed a murder case following the tragic death of his wife Asma Sadia Runa, 35, an assistant professor at the Islamic University in Kushtia, on Wednesday night.
The complaint names four individuals, including a university employee, who was reportedly found injured at the scene of the incident.
Khandakar Fazlur Rahman, an office employee who was rescued from the room in a bloodied condition during the incident, has been named as the prime accused.
The other three accused are colleagues of the victim, assistant professors Shyam Sundar Sarkar and Habibur Rahman of the social welfare department and Biswajit Kumar Biswas, an assistant registrar of Ummul Mu'mineen Aisha Siddiqa Hall. Biswas had previously worked in the Social Welfare Department and was transferred to the hall administration just a few days before the incident.
The case statement alleges that Fazlur Rahman carried out the killing following long-term planning and instructions from the two teachers and the university official. Several unidentified individuals have also been included as accused in the complaint, though their number has not been specified.
Faisal Mahmud, spokesperson of the Kushtia police and Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Operations), confirmed the matter to journalists.
He said four people have been named in the case and police are working to arrest the accused and take necessary legal action.
Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, Asma Sadia Runa, 35, assistant professor and chair of the social welfare department at Islamic University, was stabbed to death inside her office.
At the time of the incident, Fazlur Rahman, an employee of the Political Science Department, was also found seriously injured in the same room. He was later taken to Kushtia General Hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU).
The plaintiff’s statement in the case
According to the case statement, Fazlur Rahman was appointed as an office assistant in the Department of Social Welfare using departmental funds in 2018. Asma Sadia assumed the position of department chair in In September 2024. However, the former chair, Shyam Sundar, reportedly did not hand over the department’s financial records and accounts to her.
Assistant Registrar Bishwajit Kumar later told Asma Sadia that she would only need to sign documents prepared and placed before her by the concerned officials. In response, Asma reportedly stated that departmental funds must be spent in a transparent manner and warned that any misuse of funds would not be tolerated.
Following this exchange, tensions allegedly developed between Asma Sadia and Bishwajit Kumar, as well as Shyam Sundar. It is alleged that Fazlur Rahman, along with two others, had been misappropriating and misusing departmental funds.
Subsequently, Fazlur Rahman allegedly began to harass and obstruct Asma Sadia in various ways. On one occasion, in the presence of teacher Habibur Rahman, Fazlur reportedly used insulting language and behaved in an indecent manner toward her. However, Habibur Rahman did not protest the incident at the time.
The complaint further states that Asma had verbally informed the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Roksana Mili, about the incidents. Following the dean’s directive, a meeting was also held in the department to address the matter.
Several months earlier, acting on the dean’s instructions, Fazlur was transferred to the Department of Political Science for violating departmental discipline and failing to cooperate with the department chair. The decision reportedly angered teacher Habibur, who expressed his dissatisfaction and challenged Asma to bring Fazlur back to the Social Welfare Department.
Meanwhile, Biswajit was transferred on February 18 following allegations of financial embezzlement within the department. According to the complaint, after that incident several individuals began conspiring to kill Asma.
The case alleges that, acting on the direct instigation and instruction of two teachers and one official, Fazlur entered Asma’s office carrying a sharp knife, locked the door, and killed her.
The complaint also states that Asma had previously informed her husband about these incidents at the university.
What the two accused teachers are saying?
Assistant Professor Shyam Sundar Sarkar said on Thursday night that he and his colleagues were deeply saddened by the death of their colleague, Asma Sadia, and denied any involvement in the incident.
They said, “We are extremely saddened by the death of our colleague. We did not have any kind of bad relationship with her that would make us the masterminds behind a murder. The matter is under investigation, and everything will become clear over time. A person has lost a loved one. We are teachers, how could we ever kill someone?”
Teacher Habibur Rahman attended the funeral prayers for Asma Sadia. Earlier on Thursday morning, he told journalists on campus that he wanted a fair and impartial investigation into the incident.
“As a human being, I want a proper investigation into this incident. If I myself am found to be involved, then I want punishment for myself as well,” he said.
Rahman had also gone to Kushtia General Hospital on Wednesday night after Sadia and another individual were rescued. Speaking in front of the hospital’s emergency department, he described the circumstances under which the two were recovered.
