DU student’s death deserves thorough investigation
Police have some explaining to do for their role in this case so far
We would like to join the call for an impartial investigation into the death of Hafizur Rahman—a Dhaka University student—whose death remains shrouded in mystery. The brother of the victim identified his body at the Dhaka Medical College morgue on Sunday, over a week after the Shahbagh police found the fatally wounded young man on DU campus. We do not understand how the police, after finding the victim with his throat slit near the Central Shaheed Minar on May 15, failed to inform his family or the DU authorities for more than a week.
According to the victim's family, Hafizur had returned to Dhaka from Brahmanbaria on May 15, a day after Eid, and informed his family that he had reached safely. Later, having found his phone switched off and failing to trace his whereabouts, they filed a general diary with Brahmanbaria's Kasba Police Station. Shahbagh police were also notified of him going missing later. According to the OC of the Shahbagh police, some policemen from the station had found the wounded Hafizur on the night of May 15—without realising it was him. But then, why didn't they make the necessary effort to identify the wounded man? And why didn't they at least inform the DU authorities of the incident that occurred on their campus?
The police have also hinted that they suspect the young man had taken his own life. However, according to his family, there were no signs of him being in such a state of mind and he seemed fairly joyous during the Eid celebrations. Moreover, a social media video showing the wounded Hafizur being helped by three policemen to get on a rickshaw has only made things more confusing. And according to the inquest report by police, there were more wounds on his body, which demands further investigation.
We understand that DU has formed a four-member probe committee to investigate the matter. And it is a case that has many unanswered questions. These questions need to be answered by the police, whose role in this case itself has so far been questionable. Be that as it may, we call on the authorities to investigate the matter with a fine-tooth comb and uncover what really happened. Hafizur's family deserves at least that much.