Police refuse to file case 16 hours after JCD leader’s murder

More than 16 hours after the stabbed body of Md. Jobayed Hossain, leader of the Jagannath University unit of Chhatra Dal, was recovered from a house in Armanitola, Old Dhaka, no case has been filed at the police station, and no arrests have been made. 

The family of the deceased attempted to file a case from 1:00 am on Monday (October 19), but as of 8:30 am, they had not been able to register it at Banshal Police Station.

According to Jobayed’s family, they wanted to file a case naming a female student, her parents, and two acquaintances, Mahiur Rahman and Md Nafis. However, Officer-in-Charge (OC) Rafiqul Islam refused to accept it.

The deceased’s elder brother, Enayet Hossain Soikat, alleged, “We wanted to file a case against the student, her parents, and three others. But the OC said we couldn’t include so many people. He added that if we included the girl’s parents, the case would be considered minor. But we want their names included. We want justice for my brother’s murder.”

Other family members said they stayed at the police station from 1:00 am until morning but could not file the case. A draft of the case was prepared between 1:00 am and 3:00 am, but due to the OC’s absence, the process was delayed. Later, the OC suggested reducing the number of accused.

OC Rafiqul Islam said, “They can file the case against whoever they want. However, I advised discussing with university teachers before making the final decision.”

Meanwhile, students protested in front of the police station, blocking traffic at the Tantibazar intersection and setting fire to demand swift justice and the arrest of the culprits.

Around 11:00 pm on Sunday, the female student was taken into police custody and, after lengthy questioning, brought to the police station. The police have not yet issued any official statement regarding the matter.

Earlier, at 10:50 pm, Jobayed’s body was sent to Midford Hospital for an autopsy.

Jobayed Hossain was a student of the 2019–20 batch in the Department of Statistics at Jagannath University. He also served as president of the Cumilla District Student Welfare Association and was a member of the university unit of JCD’s convening committee.

For the past year, he had been tutoring privately at the house called ‘Raushan Villa’ on Noorbox Lane, Armanitola. On Sunday, around 4:45 pm, he was fatally stabbed on the third floor of the house. Blood stains were found from the ground floor to the third floor, and his body was found lying on the staircase of the third floor.