The assailants who hacked Rajshahi University Professor AKM Shafiul Islam Lilon on Saturday were hired professionals, investigators say.
“Six young men took part in the killing mission. After the mission was over, they fled the spot by climbing over a nearby wall before anyone could follow them,” a high official of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
The official, who is one of the chief coordinators of the murder investigation, seeking anonymity also said: “The killer took position behind a bush in a dark, shadowy place.”
Around 2:30pm on Saturday, armed assailants hacked Shafiul to death in the Chouddopai area in Rajshahi city. He succumbed to injuries around 4:45pm while undergoing treatment at the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
The investigator said the professor’s life could have been save if he could be brought to the hospital right after the attack. “Shafiul’s residence is located at the deserted dead end of an alley. That was why rescuing him and taking him to the hospital took time,” he said.
The official claimed to have talked to the rescuers and several witnesses and learned that six young men first surrounded Shafiul and forced him towards the bush.
At that time, Shafiul shouted at the criminals saying “why are you people forcing me?” a witness told Rajshahi police.
By the time the witness could bring in local people for support, the killers, who are professionals, fled the area by climbing over a nearby wall.
“The handle of the machete that we recovered from the spot, was wrapped with nylon so that it did not slip during the hacking. Moreover, there was no finger print on the handle,” an officer of the Detective Branch of Rajshahi police told the Dhaka Tribune.
However, the DB official said they had found the name “Sadhon” inscribed on the handle and suspected that it might refer to the maker of the machete.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, another high-ranked official from the RMP headquarters said they had been following two routes for the investigation.
“We have done the forensic test already. But using technology, we have got some other sensational information. For instance, we have learned that one of the killers had been using his mobile phone in an unusual manner at the crime scene.”
He also said: “We have prepared a list of suspects comprising numbers that had made phone calls before and after the murder to some fixed numbers over a 20-minute period.”
Analysing the phone calls, witness statements and the way the killers behaved, police guessed that they were not local people.
Another investigator told the Dhaka Tribune that the killers had been divided into three groups – one group was updating others about the professor’s movements; one group showed the others how to reach and flee the spot; and the last group carried out the killing.
He also said: “The most sensational part is that some of the suspected mobile phone numbers are registered under the name of people involved with the politics of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Chhatra Shibir.”
He said the murder scene details suggested that it was a well-planned operation which could be termed as a “silent killing.” That, he said, was one of the major directions that the investigation was heading to.
“Additionally, we are also trying to find out whether any conflicts, including Prof Shafiul’s political affiliations, could be behind the murder,” he said.
Meanwhile, police yesterday showed 11 people arrested in connection with the case and sought seven days’ remand for each.
A local court fixed today for hearing on the remand plea.
Alamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge of the Motihar police station, said all of them had cases filed against their names and were involved in sabotage and inciting violence in the area in the past.
Islamia College Principal and Jamaat leader Humayun Kabir, madrasa teacher Fazlul Haque, Abdul Al Mahmud, village doctor Mosharraf Hossain Pintu, Moshiur Rahman, Hasibur Rahman, Jinnat Ali, Saifuddin, Rezaul Karim, Arif and Sagor were the 11 shown arrested yesterday.
The Rajshahi district unit Jamaat have confirmed that all of them are actively involved with the party and its student front.
In a joint statement, district Jamaat chief Prof Abul Hashem and Secretary Abul Kalam Azad protested the arrest of Humayun without proper investigation.
Earlier, police detained 34 people during special drives over the last two days in connection with the murder.
