Two brutal mob lynchings at the country’s top two public universities within 24 hours have left the entire nation in shock, sparking a wave of public condemnation and outrage.
The first incident took place at Dhaka University’s Fazlul Haque Hall on Wednesday night, where a youth was beaten to death by a group of students after being suspected of theft.
DU’s proctorial body today (19 September) confirmed the death of the youth, identified as Tofazzal Hossain from the Kathaltoli union in Patharghata upazila of Barguna.
“The government will take immediate action against those involved in mob justice and no extrajudicial killing will be allowed”
A photo and video of Tofazzal being fed by the perpetrators at the hall canteen just hours before his death went viral on social media. Subsequently, reports emerged suggesting that the victim had been suffering from mental illness.
Another youth, Shamim Ahmed, also known as Shamim Molla, was beaten by a group of Jahangirnagar University students on Wednesday afternoon and later died while receiving treatment at a Savar hospital at around 9 pm.
Shamim was the former organising secretary of the Jahangirnagar University unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the Awami League which was ousted from power recently.
According to Abu Bakkar, officer-in-charge of Ashulia Police Station, Shamim died around 9:00 pm at Savar Gonoshasthaya Hospital.
Since the government change on 5 August, incidents of mob violence have sparked concerns nationwide. However, the latest killings on university campuses involving students were especially shocking, prompting widespread condemnation on social media.
Earlier on 8 September, Abdullah Al Masud, a former Chhatra League leader, was beaten to death by a local mob in Rajshahi.
Following a meeting with police high-ups at the DMP Headquarters yesterday, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said no one can take the law into their own hands. He also said public awareness is key to dealing with the practice of mob justice.
At a media briefing at the Foreign Service Academy, Law Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul said the government will take immediate action against those involved in mob justice and no extrajudicial killing will be allowed.
“The incident in Dhaka University has shocked us all. Action has already been taken. We will take whatever steps necessary to prevent such incidents,” he said.
Information and Broadcasting Adviser Nahid Islam demanded that legal action be taken against those responsible for the “tragic deaths”.
“The incidents of mob lynching at Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University are tragic. Legal action should be taken subject to investigation by the university administration as soon as possible,” the adviser wrote on a Facebook post at 5 pm yesterday.
University authorities vow stern action
Authorities at both universities have vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The DU administration has filed a murder case with the Shahbagh Police Station over the lynching of Tofazzal Hossain.
Shahabuddin Shaheen, officer-in-charge of the police station, confirmed that the case was filed against the unidentified accused.
Till filing this report at 10pm, police arrested six students. The arrestees are Md Jalal Mia, 25, former Chhatra League leader of the Fazlul Huq hall unit and a student of the Physics Department, Suman Mia, 21 of the Soil, Water and Environment Department, Mottakin Sakin of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, Al Hossain Sazzad of Geography, Ahsan Ullah and Wazibul Alam.
The JU authority also pledged to expose those involved in the beating after a thorough investigation.
On Thursday night, JU authorities announced the suspension of eight students in a notification signed by Acting Registrar ABM Azizur Rahman.
The suspended students are Raju Ahmed, Rajan Mia, Hamidullah Salman, MN Sohag, Mahmudul Hasan Raihan, Zubair Ahmed, Atikuzzaman Atiq, and Ahsan Labib.
Top coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement condemned the incidents.
Abu Baker Majumder, a leader of the Movement, said these incidents are gross violations of human rights.
“We protest against these incidents of human rights violations and demand justice for the deceased. We also urge the interim government to take prompt steps to stop extrajudicial killings in all forms,” Abu Baker added.
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement has dismissed Ahsan Labib, a coordinator of the movement’s Jahangirnagar University unit, from his post over his alleged involvement in beating Shamim Mollah.
The movement’s central coordinator for the university Arif Sohel confirmed the matter in an official statement posted on his Facebook account.
Students of Jahangirnagar University staged demonstrations and brought out processions twice, the first one at 2 am and the second one at 11 am, protesting the killing of former Chhatra League leader Shamim on the campus.
The procession was brought out under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
Various political and social organisations also held demonstrations on the DU campus throughout yesterday, calling for the swift arrest and trial of those responsible for killing Tofazzal.
In a press conference at the Dhaka University Journalists Association (DUJA) on Thursday, Jatiyatabadi Chatra Dal (JCD), the student wing of BNP, condemned the mob lynchings and demanded justice.
What happened at DU?
According to witnesses, the victim, Tofazzel, sneaked into the DU hall on Wednesday evening. Some students then caught and interrogated him about the theft of six mobile phone sets and wallets from the hall the previous day.
Under intense questioning, the man agreed to tell them about the real thieves if they gave him something to eat. The students then fed him, but the man failed to disclose the names of the thieves.
Then the angry students beat up the man for two hours starting from 10 pm Wednesday, according to the witnesses.
When the DU proctorial team got informed about the matter, it went to the spot and took the severely injured Tofazzal to a hospital for treatment where the doctors declared him dead.
According to some reports, victim Tofazzal was a mentally unstable person.
Arifuzzaman Imran, a resident of the Patharghata upazila of Barguna and an acquaintance of Tofazzal, told TBS, “Tofazzal lost his mental stability due to trauma from personal issues, including a series of losses. Within a short time, his mother, father, and only elder brother passed away, leaving him without family support and causing him to lose his mental balance over the past three to four years.
“Tofazzal frequently wandered around the Dhaka University campus. Everyone who knew him in our area would help him. He would greet me warmly whenever he saw me. I would often provide him with food or money, though he didn’t usually need much,” Imran added.
According to eyewitnesses, Tofazzal was beaten the most by Jalal Mia, a former Chhatra League leader. He was arrested among others.
What happened at JU?
According to JU students, on Wednesday afternoon, a group of students beat up Chhatra League leader Shamim for allegedly leading an attack on protesting students at Jahangirnagar University (JU) on the night of 15 July.
When he was later brought to the proctor’s office, angry students attacked him again.
Proctor AKM Rashidul Alam said that during initial questioning at the proctor’s office, Shamim admitted his involvement in the attack on students and revealed the names of other accomplices to the police.
He was handed over to Ashulia Police Station around 8:30 pm, after which police admitted him to Savar Gonoshasthaya Hospital, where he died while receiving treatment.
Several videos of Shamim Ahmed being beaten have been obtained by The Business Standard.
One video shows a man attacking Shamim with a stick while he is detained in the security wing. He is identified as Raju Ahmed, a student from the 45th batch of the Politics Department and a resident of Shaheed Salam-Barkat Hall, who is involved in “Chhatra Dal politics”, according to campus sources.
At that time, another individual was seen kicking Shamim, who was lying on the ground, but their identity has not yet been confirmed.
Raju’s phone was found switched off when TBS tried to contact him for comment.
Another video features Labib Ahsan, coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement.
Regarding this, Labib Ahsan said, “After Shamim Molla was detained, many people called me. I arrived at the scene and questioned him about whether he had been involved in the attack on the 15th. Later, after handing him over to the Proctor’s office, I went to Ibn Sina Hospital and returned to campus around 9:30 p.m.”
When asked about the involvement of Chhatra Dal leaders and activists in the beating, JU Proctor AKM Rashidul Alam told TBS, “I am not aware of the political affiliations of the individuals involved. However, we have the video footage and will use it to identify those responsible.’
