Students of Chittagong University (CU) staged demonstrations on campus on Thursday condemning the brutal killing of a cat.
The students formed a human chain with placards in front of the university's Shaheed Minar from 11am-12pm.
They demanded an impartial investigation into the killing and cruelty against the animal.
The placards read: “Stop killing animals, raise your voice. We want punishment and justice for the cruel, brutal, inhumane, barbaric killing of the cat in the university hall.”
Meanwhile, the suspected killer, Abdullah Faruky, a student of the International Relation (IR) department and resident of F Rahman Hall claimed that he is a victim of conspiracy by his rivals.
Lasani Arfin Kunja, a 2014-15 session student of the physics department, said: "We want an investigation into this brutal murder. We want the person who adopted the cat, as well as those with evidence, to come forward so that the main culprits can be punished. This type of action should not be repeated in the future. It is a violation of the Animal Welfare Act.”
Dhaka TribuneEarlier, on December 20, a cat was brutally killed in CU's AF Rahman Hall. When the picture of the cat's killing went viral on social media, students and netizens responded angrily.
“That disgusting boy was intoxicated that night,” wrote Fahim Khan, a student in the CU-based Facebook group.
“The cat entered the room and began playing with her kittens. But he didn't like the cat's playing, so he began to hit the cat's head with a stick till it started bleeding. He later stabbed the cat when it was already in pain,” he added.
Fahim later questioned: “Who brings drugs into campus? How intoxicated can someone be to kill another person's pet so brutally?”
The cat's owner is mentally broken after its death, added Fahim in his post.
He later demanded punishment for Abdullah Faruky in that Facebook post.
Meanwhile, claiming to be a victim of political revenge, accused Abdullah Faruky told Dhaka Tribune that the cat was living with a senior in one of the halls of the university. “I requested him to leave the cat with me when he went home.”
“Before the incident, I had it (cat) for 20-22 days. In the morning of the incident, I woke up to find the cat brutally murdered and abandoned in front of my room door. I was extremely saddened by this incident; my friends advised me to forget about it at the time,” he added.
He continued: “Later, I almost forgot about it as well. However, I noticed that many people wrote various types of posts, adding screenshots of my profile and photos. Someone is attempting to frame me.”
Abdullah later said that he is a Chhatra League activist at CU. “So, many people can frame me, and it can be personal.”
In response to a question of whether he was intoxicated at the time of the incident, Abdullah said: "I am not involved in any kind of intoxication. You can test me if you want. I am completely broken mentally.”
He also said that people are calling him from different numbers and sending abusive messages on Facebook.
CU Proctor Dr Rabiul Hasan Bhuiayan said: “We will conduct our own investigation and take action if we have concrete evidence of who or what is involved.”
Meanwhile, People for Animal Welfare (PAW) Foundation's Founder and Chairman Rakibul Haq Emil said an important issue will be left unresolved, If the case of the torture and killing of CU's cat is only viewed as animal murder. A person with such a terrible mentality poses a future threat to the people around them.
He said according to research, the majority of the heinous killers have gotten away with torturing animals. As a result, university officials should seriously discuss such horrifying incidents and take the necessary precautions to keep other students safe.
