Police on Thursday arrested Russell Mia alias Russell Matubbar, a key suspect in the September 5 murder of Barisal University student Saoda Aktar Mallik.
Zahedul Islam, officer-in-charge of Chittagong Port Police Station, said Russell was detained in a shop at Kolsi Dighir Par area of the port city on Thursday evening.
Atikur Rahman, assistant police commissioner of Barisal Metropolitan Police, with a team had already arrested Shimu, sister of Russell and her husband Palash from the Ashulia area of Dhaka on Wednesday. With the help of Shimu, police traced Russell to Chittagong.
Earlier police arrested Bipul Baroi, a first-year accounting student of Barisal University and a close friend of Russell.
BU students have been staging protest programmes since the day of the murder, demanding the arrest and punishment of Russell, a management student at the same university.
Saoda, from the remote coastal area of Patharghata of Barguna district, was admitted to the accounting department of BU for higher study.
Russell, who comes from the same locality, chopped her to death after she broke up with him.
In a note left at his mess, Russell said he decided to kill Saoda as her family had denied to give her in marriage with him, physically assaulted him, and humiliated his own family by ridiculing their poverty and lower social status.
Russell said he would also commit suicide in order to be reunited with Saoda in the after world.
