Prime accused still at large

Two years have passed by since the murder of Nasim Ahmed Sohel, an MBA student of Premier University Chittagong, but the police are yet to submit charge-sheet in the case.

Police could not even arrest the prime accused, Md Ibrahim Sohan, an expelled student of the same university.

Sohel was stabbed to death allegedly by rival Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists while he was rehearsing for the farewell and freshers' reception ceremony on the campus on March 29 last year.

Sohel was a member of the executive committee of BCL Chittagong city unit and was loyal to general secretary of Awami League (AL) Chittagong city unit AJM Nasir Uddin while Sohan was reportedly loyal to the unit's president ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury.

According to students and police, a feud between the two factions over controlling the programme led to the murder.

While talking to The Daily Star, Victim's father Abu Taher yesterday alleged that police were “reluctant” to arrest the prime accused.

“Police did not conduct a single drive in Sohan's house in last 19 months,” he said.

“We have informed police on many occasions when Sohan went to his house to meet his family in the city. Sohan even came to Chittagong during Eid-ul-Azha, but police did not conduct any drive to arrest him,” said Taher.

He also alleged that Sohan's family knew about his hideout, but police were not interested in putting pressure on them to make them admit.

Soon after the incident, police arrested five out of the 13 named accused while four more accused surrendered to the court later, said Sub-Inspector Mohammad Shahjahan of Chawk Bazar Police Station, also the investigation officer (IO).

But, eight of them were released on bail. The case also includes some 25 anonymous persons.

The accused are now threatening me and my family to withdraw the case. They are also threatening the witnesses,” the father said.

 “The CC TV footage clearly showed who were involved in the murder,” Taher said, adding, “There might have been some political pressure on police for not giving the charge sheet, as the accused are politically influential.”

Contacted, the IO said it is a sensational murder case; therefore it should be handled carefully.

About the charge-sheet, the IO said, “It cannot be ascertained immediately. The senior officers of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP), including the commissioner and deputy commissioner, are concerned about the case. Our investigation is going on.”

Officer-in-Charge of Chawk Bazar Police Station Mir Mohammad Nurul Huda claimed that the investigation is almost finished. “We are taking time to properly prepare the charge sheet in order to ensure maximum punishment for all the criminals,” he added.

Contacted, Deputy Commissioner of CMP (south) SM Mustain Hossain said they did not have any political pressure in the case. Asked about the allegations of the victim's father, the DC said they conducted several drives at different locations, but Sohan was not there.

Police did not raid Sohan's house because he does not stay there anymore, he said, claiming that the victim’s family never clearly informed police about Sohan's location or his arrival.

Moreover, the murder was jointly conducted by some students and outsiders, said Mustain, adding, “We are trying our best to identify and arrest the criminals.”