Abrar Faiyaj, the younger brother of Abrar Fahad, recalled his late brother on Sunday on the anniversary of his death.
Abrar Fahad, a student of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), was brutally killed by leaders and activists of the Chhatra League for posting a Facebook status critical of India.
On the night of October 6, 2019, Abrar was called out from his dorm room by several Buet Chhatra League leaders. Later, his lifeless body was found in the corridor of Sher-e-Bangla Hall around 3am.
Abrar was a second-year student of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and lived in room 1011 of Shere Bangla Hall. His family home was on PTI Road in Kushtia city.
Faiyaj, also a student at Buet, shared two emotional Facebook posts.
The first post mentioned: "Five years ago on this night, I received my brother’s last phone call. He had spoken with one of his students’ mothers. Shortly after, the beating began. The call recording reflects the terror my brother was experiencing at that moment. Yet, his killers showed no mercy.
"Now, there is talk of forgiveness for those behind these murderers.”
"The call came at 9:40pm on October 6, 2019. My mother called him twice at 11:16pm, but they did not let him answer."
The second post mentioned: "On this day, October 6, 2019, my brother left for Dhaka.
"After returning from Kushtia on September 26, he had made two Facebook posts regarding a treaty with India. That day, my mother herself saw him off. Just 13-14 hours later, he was brutally tortured. Twenty hours after leaving, we got the news of his death.
"The morning before he left, my mother called me around 9am. She said, 'Your brother is leaving, get up.' But my brother said, 'Let him sleep. He has barely slept in days. I am leaving now. Do not stay long, come to Dhaka soon.'
"The night before, he told my mother, 'Ma, I’m getting bitten by bedbugs. Can you pat my back and check if there are any bite marks? Do you have any medicine so I will not get bitten anymore?'"
On the night of October 6, 2019, Buet student Abrar Fahad was called out from his room by Chhatra League activists. His body was found later that night in the stairwell of Sher-e-Bangla Hall. Abrar's father, Barkat Ullah, filed a murder case on October 7, accusing 19 individuals.
On November 13, 2019, after an investigation, police submitted a charge sheet against 25 Buet students.
Charges were formally framed on September 15, and on December 8, 2021, the court sentenced 20 of the accused to death in the Abrar Fahad murder case, while five received life imprisonment.
