RU teacher Shafiul murder: 3 get death, 8 acquitted

A Rajshahi court has sentenced three people to death and acquitted eight others in a case filed for murder of Rajshahi University teacher Dr AKM Shafiul Islam Lilon. 

Rajshahi Speedy Tribunal Judge Anup Kumar passed the order on Monday. 

The death-row convicts are Abdus Salam Pintu, Mohammad Sabuj and Ariful Islam Manik. Of them, Manik is on run. 

Prof Shafiul Islam was stabbed by some unknown assailants on his way home at Chouddapai near the RU campus around 3:30 pm on November 15 in 2014.

He succumbed to his injures at the Intensive Care Unit of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital half an hour later.

Police detained 20 people in connection with the killing of Prof Shafiul Islam on November 16.

RU Registrar Eltajul Haq filed a case with Motihar Police Station following the murder.

On November 30, 2015, Inspector Rezaus Sadik of police's Detective Branch submitted the charge sheet and ruled out any militant outfit's involvement in the murder.

He accused Anwar Hossain Ujjal, a former convener of Rajshahi district unit of Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, and ten others for the murder. Other accused are: Nasrin Akhter Reshma, an assistant section officer of RU; her husband and Jubo Dal activist Abdus Samad Pintu; former Katakhali municipal unit Jubo Dal organising secretary Ariful Islam Manik; Sirajul Islam Kalu; Mohammad Sabuj; Al Mamun; Mohammad Arif; Mohammad Sagor; Zinnat Ali, and Ibrahim Khalil alias “Tokai Babu”.

According to the charge sheet, Sabuj, Sagor, Arif, Zinnat and Ibrahim hacked Prof Shafiul to death upon receiving instructions from Ujjal and Manik.

The charges were based only on the confessional statement of the accused Nasrin Akter Reshma who claimed Prof Shafiul was killed because “he misbehaved with her”, said public prosecutor Entajul Haque.