Nearly two weeks into the murder of Rajshahi University Professor AKM Shafiul Islam, law enforcers are nowhere near solving the case, instead several questions have been raised on the way investigation was going on.
Although the names of Jubo Dal leader Anowar Hossain Uzzal and Chhatra League leader Ibrahim Hossain Moon have come up repeatedly in connection with the murder mystery, Rajshahi police have been “mysteriously” inactive in rounding them up.
Moreover, the alleged role of the officer-in-charge of the Motihar police station, under which the area of the crime scene falls, have also raised a few eyebrows.
On Sunday November 23, arresting six people in Rajshahi and Dhaka, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) claimed that they had solved the murder mystery. They said a local Jubo Dal leader had masterminded the killing because the professor had “misbehaved” with his wife.
Several arrestees, including the main planner Manik, told media at the RAB headquarters in Dhaka on that day that they had carried out orders from Jubo Dal leader Pintu and his friend Uzzal and killed the professor.
They also said RU Chhatra League leader Moon knew that they were planning to kill the professor.
Although Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) was not convinced at first and had been saying that the professor’s ideological standoff with his pro-Jamaat colleagues was a main motive, on Wednesday, they said they were going to follow RAB’s theory.
Asked why they had not yet taken any action against Uzzal and Moon, Rajshahi Iftekharul Alam, assistant commissioner of RMP’s Detective Branch, told the Dhaka Tribune: “It is not true that we are not taking care of it. We are analysing the involvement of Uzzal and Moon with the murder. Once we find any link, we will take lawful action.”
RMP sources said they are now trying to find out if there is any link between the six Jubo Dal men arrested by RAB and the Facebook page of Ansar Al Islam Bangladesh-2, a cyber Jihadist group that claimed responsibility soon after the killing.
Two people have already been arrested in Bogra by RMP for their activities on the Facebook page, but RMP said there was a Jamaat leader behind the two. They said a former Shibir leader from the Azizul Haque College in Bogra was pulling the strings behind the page.
AKM Nahiduzzaman, deputy commissioner of RMP, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We hope to solve the murder mystery once we get our hands on the Shibir leader in Bogra.”
Moon-rise
According to a number of witnesses and local people, the first person seen at the murder scene on November 15 was RU Chhatra League leader Masud Rana alias Bhagina Masud.
He is known as a close associate of another RU Chhatra League leader Ibrahim Hossain Moon, who now runs a Chinese restaurant near the Kajla gate of the university.
The Dhaka Tribune has learned that although they belonged to rival political groups, Moon had a really good relation with Uzzal and they were in the construction business together.
As a Chhatra League leader, Moon used his influence in the university administration to get orders for development work for Uzzal, who had the contractor’s licence.
This reporter found that both Uzzal’s construction business and Moon’s Chinese restaurant are located in the same building.
An official of the RU’s engineering department said Moon got the order for virtually every kind of development work on the campus from 2009-13. He alleged that former RU chief engineer Abdur Rahim used to give him all the work in exchange for huge sums of bribe.
However, things changed after a reshuffle in the university administration in March 2013. Following the allegations of corruption, Rahim was removed from the post of chief engineer.
In July last year, he was replaced by Shirajul Monir, who refused to indulge in the corruption. In August this year, having failed to convince Shirajul, Moon even got the engineer allegedly beaten up Towhid Al Hossain Tuhin, the current secretary of the RU unit Chhatra League.
Tuhin could not be reached for comment. But, Mizanur Rahman Rana, president of RU Chhatra League, told the Dhaka Tribune that Tuhin had been suspended from the central committee for beating Shiraj up.
Another official from the RU administration told the Dhaka Tribune that Moon had a conflict of interest with the slain professor as well.
During a recruitment in the Sociology department, Moon wanted two of his favourite candidates selected. But Shafiul, who was then the chair of the department, did not heed Moon’s recommendations.
Other sources said that was not the first time Moon had tried to influence teacher recruitment process at the university. He lost his edge quite a bit after the reshuffling in the administration.
Moreover, in 2011-12, Moon wanted the order for a Tk2 crore HEQEP work at the sociology department but he failed to convince Prof Shafiul.
A senior teacher of the department said: “Present Vice-Chancellor Muhamamd Mizanuddin, who is himself from the Sociology department, took stern action against Moon’s activities.
He also said: “It is very much possible for Moon to be involved with the killing. He has had good relations with Shibir activists since he became RU Chhatra League president in 2009.”
The Dhaka Tribune reporter managed to contact Moon over phone last night.
“I have not got any work order in the last two years. I used to do politics once upon a time. But now I am busy doing a PHD. People who do not like me have instigated journalists to write bad things about me,” he said.
Asked about his friendship with Uzzal, Moon said: “I have talked to Uzzal only once this year. He belongs to a rival political group. Do you think it is normal for me to have good relations with him?”
Khairuzzaman Liton, president of Rajshahi city Awami League, admitted that Shibir had infiltrated their organisation.
Motihar OC’s role
According to witnesses, Motihar police station OC Alamgir reached the crime scene minutes after Shafiul had been attacked by the assailants.
A local resident said hearing the news of the attack, he went to the area around 3:15pm and found OC Alamgir there.
“When I wanted to know why this could have happened, Alamgir said the professor had been attacked because his personal life was full of mystery. He had good relations with many women,” the witness said, strongly requesting anonymity.
“Prof Shafiul was still alive when I asked him how he could be so sure about the motive. In reply, the OC said he had learned all those by visiting the spot,” the witness continued.
As of yesterday, RMP has not said anything in public about the role of the Motihar police station OC.
