Police now move to end confusion
Those who had been arrested separately by police and the Rapid Action Battalion in connection with Prof AKM Shafiul Islam's murder were brought face-to-face for interrogation last night.
This was done to identify the "real motive" behind the gruesome killing of the Sociology professor of Rajshahi University, police said.
“We need to interrogate them face-to-face to detect a conclusive motive,” said Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Commissioner M Shamsuddin at a press conference in the city yesterday afternoon.
Confusion rose after the two law enforcement agencies yesterday came up with contradictory versions of the motive behind the murder.
Rajshahi police, after arresting three people from Bogra, said two of the detainees claimed responsibilities for the murder. The duo were claimed to be Jamaat-Shibir activists.
On the contrary, the Rab arrested six people from Rajshahi and Gazipur and claimed that a former RU Chhatra Dal leader masterminded the killing following a row centring his wife, who is an employee at the university.
“There is no scope for any contradiction. The Rab revelation is not complete, but a part of the investigation. The police are still looking into the possibilities of the victim's enmity in his family and professional life, and links of radicals," said the newly joined RMP boss.
“Through tonight's interrogation, we will try to find whether there was any link between the Jamaat-Shibir cadres and the Chhatra Dal leaders," he added.
The Rab on Sunday had claimed that a few weeks earlier Shafiul had "harassed" Nasrin Akter, the wife of Abdus Salam Pintu who is a former vice-president of the RU unit of the BNP's student wing.
Nasrin works in the accounts section of the university.
Visiting her office yesterday, this correspondent could not find her there. She was not found at her residence in the city's Budhpara area either.
Nasrin's colleagues said they were not aware of any row between her and the slain professor.
"In fact, she deals with the salaries of 3rd and 4th class employees and had no business at all with the university teachers," said an officer of the same section, wishing anonymity.
Prof Shafiul, 48, known as a progressive-minded teacher at RU, was hacked to death by assailants near his house in Rajshahi's Choddopai area on November 15. Two hours after the murder, a so-called militant outfit Ansar Al Islam Bangladesh-2 reportedly claimed responsibility for the murder on its Facebook page.
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