An accused in the lynching of a mentally unstable youth at Fazlul Huq Hall of Dhaka University has fled the court premises after submitting an application to surrender.
Rashed Kamal Anik, a student accused of the killing of Tofazzal Hossain, appeared at the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Sunday through his lawyer seeking to surrender in the case.
However, court sources said he left the court premises before the hearing on his surrender petition began.
Anik is among the accused in the killing of Tofazzal, a mentally unstable youth who was beaten to death by a group of students at Fazlul Haque Hall of Dhaka University about a year and a half ago after being suspected of theft.
Charge sheet against 28 accused
On March 10, the court accepted the charge sheet in the murder case filed over the incident and issued arrest warrants against 22 accused students who remain absconding.
According to the case documents, on the night of September 18, 2024, some students spotted Tofazzal moving suspiciously near the gate of Fazlul Haque Muslim Hall.
Suspecting him of stealing a mobile phone, they took him to the hall’s guest room, where he was allegedly assaulted.
Investigators said the victim was first slapped and later tied to a window in the guest room of the hall’s south building. He was then beaten with cricket stamps, hockey sticks and batons by several students.
At one stage, he fell unconscious due to the beating.
Around midnight, some students took him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where the doctor on duty declared him dead.
Case and investigation
The day after the incident, on September 19, Mohammad Amanullah, supervisor of the university’s estate office, filed a murder case with Shahbagh Police Station.
Following an initial investigation, Inspector Md Asaduzzaman of Shahbagh Police submitted a charge sheet to the court on December 30 last year, accusing 21 Dhaka University students.
However, the Dhaka University authorities raised objections, claiming the investigation had not been conducted properly.
Subsequently, on February 26 last year, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Saifuzzaman ordered a fresh probe and assigned the investigation to the Police Bureau of Investigation.
After reinvestigation, Hannanul Islam, additional superintendent of police of the PBI, submitted a new charge sheet to the court on December 15, accusing a total of 28 people, adding seven more individuals to the case.
While some of the accused are currently on bail or in custody, most of the suspects remain absconding.