A court in Dhaka has accepted a supplementary charge sheet filed by police against 28 individuals in the killing of Tofazzal, a mentally unstable young man who was beaten to death on suspicion of theft at Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall of University of Dhaka.
At the same time, the court issued arrest warrants against 22 accused who are currently absconding.
The charge sheet was accepted on Tuesday (March 10) by the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jewel Rana. The court also ordered the case to be transferred to another court for trial.
SI Jinnat Ali of the prosecution department confirmed the matter.
Among the 28 accused named in the charge sheet are Md Jalal Mia (26) of the Physics Department, Suman Mia (21) of the Soil, Water and Environment Department, Md Mottakin Sakin Shah (24) of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, Al Hossain Sajjad (23) of the Geography Department, residential student of Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall Md Ahsan Ullah alias Bipul Sheikh (24), Wazibul Alam (22), Md Firoz Kabir (23), among others.
Of the accused, Ahsan Ullah alias Bipul Sheikh and Wazibul Alam are currently out on bail. Jalal Mia, Al Hossain Sajjad, Md Mottakin Sakin Shah and Suman Mia have been arrested and are in jail.
According to the investigation officer, Additional Superintendent of Police Md Hannanul Islam of the Police Bureau of Investigation, the charge sheet includes a detailed account of the incident.
The investigation revealed that on September 18, 2024, at around 7:45 pm, the victim Tofazzal entered Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall through the main gate. Within three minutes he reached the hall field. Just 57 seconds after he sat beside the sports management stage, several students began beating him on suspicion of being a thief.
He was later taken toward the main building where he was interrogated for about 25 minutes while the assault continued. At one stage the students realized that he had no connection with the alleged mobile phone theft. He was then taken to the hall canteen and given food.
However, he was later taken to a guest room in the south building where he was again beaten with stumps, hockey sticks and sticks.
At around 10:52 pm, he was rescued and taken to hospital where doctors declared him dead.
Following the incident, a case was filed on September 19, 2024 at Shahbagh Police Station under Bangladesh Police by Mohammad Amanullah, a supervisor of the university’s estate office.
Later, on September 25, the victim’s cousin Mosammat Asma Akter filed a court petition against 15 individuals including the provost of Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall, Professor Shah Muhammad Masum.
Initially, 21 people were accused during the investigation. Later, eight individuals were granted exemption after their confessional statements were recorded. After completing the investigation, the authorities submitted a supplementary charge sheet naming 28 people as the final accused.
Investigation officer Hannanul Islam said that further investigation into the eight individuals who were granted exemption was completed as per the court’s instruction. Based on findings up to December 17, a supplementary charge sheet was submitted against a total of 28 individuals, including the 21 earlier identified by the previous investigator.
He added that no additional suspects were found beyond these 28 individuals in connection with the incident.
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