RU teachers protest charge sheet delay

Rajshahi University Teachers Association will be holding a rally on the campus today at 10:30am marking a year past the murder of Prof AKM Shafiul Islam and protesting “delay” in investigations since the case's charge sheet is yet to be submitted.

Seven days after her arrest on March 7 by the Detective Branch of police, an assistant section officer of Rajshahi University's (RU) finance and accounts section, Nasrin Akter Reshma, confessed to a court to her involvement in the killing.

Her husband, Abdus Samad Pintu, who is also a Rajshahi Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal leader, and five others were arrested on November 23 by Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), which claimed they admitted to have hacked the sociology professor near his house in Rajshahi's Choddopai area following a row centring Reshma.

The six, including Ariful Islam alias Manik, Sabuj Sheikh, Sirajul Islam alias Kalu, Al Mamun and Ibrahim Khalil alias “Tokai” Babu, denied the murder charges before Rajshahi courts two days later.

Rab also named Anwar Hossain Uzzal, convener of Rajshahi unit Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, as the planner. Police sources believe he fled to India.

Inspector Rezaus Sadik, who took over the case on October 25, blames the changes in investigation officers for the “delay” and hopes to submit the charge sheet by this month.

The case was transferred to DB under Inspector Ashiqur Rahman on January 21 after RU Registrar Prof Entajul Haque filed it with Motihar Police Station the day following the murder.

Talking to The Daily Star, Rezaus termed baseless the claim of a so-called militant outfit Ansar Al Islam Bangladesh-2 on its Facebook page that it carried out the murder.

Prof Shafiul's only son Soumin Sharid Javin expressed his frustration over the “delay” on Facebook. “I am still alive only with the hope of seeing the killers being punished,” he said.